To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition
by Ron the True Fan
Summary: When Galactica investigates a debris field that came out of nowhere, they get the shock of their lives in the form of a new weapon of war, two warships and race to get to Earth. First of the Ultimate Rewrites Series.
1. Prologue: The Beginning of the End

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Ah, back to my old roots. As you no doubt know, I am Ron the True Fan, and this is the rewrite of my well known story _To Hell and Back_. (Called _THAB_ hereafter) If the archive didn't tell you, it's a _Gundam SEED/Battlestar Galactica_ crossover. The original version was posted (and finished) 3 years ago. My writing skills back then _sucked._ Now, if I can mix two universes that never had much in common (_Bleach_ and Babylon 5) and create a good story, then I can rewrite _this._ Same cast, same plot, just better writing, and a different timeline: the _GSD_ part's still the Battle of Berlin, but the _BSG_ part is during the first season: Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down, to be exact.

The GFAS-X1 Destroy was ripping through Berlin like the Red Army in AD 1945.

Beam cannons tore through the old German capital like a knife through hot butter while the defending ZAFT forces were getting slaughtered.

The escorting Earth Alliance MSs did little to help the massive monster, but then again, what could stop it?

The _Minerva_ was barely 10 miles away, and far outside weapons range.

Nothing could _touch_ the massive weapon.

Well, until the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, piloted by Kira Yamato, arrived with the _Archangel,_ coming in under the radar.

The Freedom's beam rifle fired at the massive Mobile Suit, but the lightwave shields just made the shots bounce off.

Any surviving ZAFT units either backed the hell off or were cut down by the Destroy's massive beam weapons.

"_Kira, the _Minerva's_ closing in. We're not sure whether or not they'll attack us or not, but_-"

Kira didn't hear the rest, as he was forced to dodge beam rifle fire from the GAT-01 Windams and the ZGMF-X24S Chaos, who were excorting the MS/MA.

At that point in time, something happened.

It would not be identified by the ZAFT, Earth Alliance or Orb forces in the battle til much later.

It was called a Randomized Natural FTL Event, and the chances for it were one in one hundred trillion. Rather high, no?

And the chances were even higher for it happening in an inhabited system.

Now it was about to happen in Berlin, and it was about to suck in every ship, Mobile Unit and building within the Berlin area.

Kira fired his beam rifle, setting off the RNFTLE.

The EMP it caused knocked out everything electronic, and the event itself sent them across the galaxy.

They didn't notice a thing, as they were knocked out by the extremely violent forces of a natural FTL jump, as artificially created FTL jumps were quite gentle.

Aprilius One, Capital of the PLANTs

Gilbert Durandal never swore, but if he thought he would, now was the perfect time to start.

The _Minerva_ was gone.

Sure, it rid them of the _Archangel_ and the Freedom, but he NEEDED the _Minerva._

Still, he thought he'd seen those energy signatures before.

More controlled and much smaller, but VERY similar.

"_Chairman? The Council is ready to begin the meeting_."

"I'll be down there shortly."

Meanwhile, across the galaxy...

75 ships flew through the void, searching for a home called Earth.

Their creations suddenly destroyed their homes after 40 years without a word.

The Cylons destroyed everything and killed everyone.

But one military ship survived: the Battlestar _Galactica._

For months, _Galactica_ shepherded and protected her civilian charges, warding off the Cylon baseships that attacked them.

Today, that changed.

Lieutenant Felix Gaeta and Colonial Corps of Engineers Major Ronald Pinkerton were working on improving the DRADIS arrays on the largest ship in the Fleet.

And it was not fun.

"No, you idiot. That one goes there, THAT one goes there!"

Gaeta was having a hard time dealing with the CCE commander-in-chief.

The man knew the _Galactica_-Class Battlestar like the back of his hand, (he personally oversaw _Galactica's_ refit 20 years earlier) but everyone rarely saw the man.

He always hung out in his quarters, only doing something when his engineering skills were REALLY needed.

"No WONDER the DRADIS only has half the range."

He pointed at two unplugged cables.

"Who the frak unplugged those?!"

"Wait, Major, don't-"

He plugged them in, receiving the shock of his life.

Literally: 250000 volts passed through his hands, his titanium skeleton and finally into his hair, making it stick up on end.

"That wasn't a good idea."

He let go of the cables, falling to the deck below.

Gaeta made a note to call the ship's barber.

AFTER laughing his ass off at the Major's pain.

"Gaeta..."

The Lieutenant looked at the Major.

"Help me up, or I swear to Hades I will make your life a living hell when I get up on my own."

Gaeta did NOT want to know what the Major would do to him, so he made his way down, helping the semi-paralyzed man up.

"You alright, sir?"

"I'll tell you when I regain feeling in my toes. Check the DRADIS."

Gaeta rolled his eyes, but did as the man said and looked at the DRADIS console near the hatch.

The range had increased by at least 60%, but resolution was degraded slightly.

Even so, it was picking up a huge mass of debris just outside visual range, and if it weren't for the Major's crazy stunt, they'd never've noticed it.

"There's something nearby. I'll go tell the Commander."

"Sure, leave me here, you bastard."

Gaeta ignored the Major and made his way the nearest phone.

"Lieutenant Gaeta to CIC."

"_CIC."_

"Major Pinkerton and I have finished modifying the DRADIS dish, and the screens up here are picking up a mass of objects 500 kilometers off the port bow. I think the Major's going to want someone to investigate."

"_Why'd he tell you to give us the message? He could've done it himself_."

"He's..."

He looked back and the Major, who was trying to move his arm.

"Indisposed at the moment: shocked himself into temporary paralysis."

"_Sucks to be him. I'll reroute a medical team to get him out of there_."

Gaeta looked at the pissed off Major, who was regaining control of his legs.

"Good idea."

Gaeta was torn.

Would he leave the pain in the ass so he could get back to CIC or wait for the medics to arrive?

No contest.

He left the Major where he stood.

"WHEN I GET FEELING IN MY LEGS BACK, GAETA, YOU'RE FRAKED! YOU HEAR ME?!"

Battlestar _Galactica:_ CIC

"A debris field?"

Gaeta nodded.

"After we finished modifications to the DRADIS, it picked up the field just outside visual range. I think the Major would like us to take a look, if only to stripmine it."

"You're damn right, I would!"

Commander William Adama turned to face the Major, who was walking toward them, and now almost completely bald as well.

"I thought you were paralyzed."

The extremely short-haired Major rubbed his shoulder.

"One of the few GOOD things about having ancestors that were genetically engineered is that you recover much faster then anyone else. Still a bit screwy, but I SHOULD be able to go and take a look."

Colonel Saul Tigh looked at the Major.

"With what? Some of that debris might be too close for a Raptor, you can't fly a Mk II and even if you designed the Mk VII, you haven't flown a Viper in years."

"You seem to have forgotten something. My old Mk I is in the starboard flight pod, and it can fly. Get it to the port pod for launch, and you'll have another Viper pilot on the line."

Tigh looked at Adama.

"Another pilot WOULD help, and it would get him out of our hair for more then a few days."

That was the only plus.

Finally, the Commander relented.

"Do it. If there's anything in that debris that we can use-"

"Get a team of Raptors together, and I'll strip it to the bones. Hell, I'll even find a use for the bones."

His smirk was almost infectious, so the Commander ordered him out before it actually _turned_ infectious.

"Well, his Mk I's a bit smaller then a Mk II, so if anything, he can navigate an asteroid field with no problem."

"Ammo's going to be an issue, though: the Mk I's only has half the ammunition the Mk II has."

Adama cleaned his glasses with a cloth.

"Pinkerton will fit that Mk I with twin gunpods. He did it during the First Cylon War. He'll do it now."

Battlestar _Galactica_ port flight pod hanger bay: 45 minutes later

"THAT-"

The Major smirked at the sight of his Mk I, fit with twin 40mm gunpods with at least 600 rounds of ammunition, in the launch tube.

"Is a thing of beauty."

Galen Tyrol looked at the Major.

"You're not even wearing a flight suit. That thing's not a Raptor, you know: it's not pressurized."

"All CCE personnel wear their flight suits under their uniforms."

Tyrol looked at the man, who partially took off his jacket, showing an armored version of the standard Colonial Fleet issue flight suit.

He even had the metal collar on his neck.

"Huh. No helmet, though."

Ron reached in and took it out of the cockpit and hopped in, strapping it to his head.

"Smartass."

The hatch closed, and the Major was strapped into his old bird. He closed the cockpit canopy and gave a thumbs up to the LSO.

"Time to fly. HAHAHAHA!"

He was launched into the vacuum, cackling all the way.

As soon as he cleared the Battlestar, he turned toward the general direction of the debris field.

Two Mk IIs moved into formation with him.

"_Viper 357, Viper 149, callsign Starbuck: Commander Adama wanted us to escort you_." The Major shrugged. "Viper 149, Viper 357, callsign Psycho: copy that. Be advised, that debris field is a few hours out. It's going to be a LONG haul."

"_Psycho, Starbuck: copy that. Raptor 058, where the frak are you_?"

The Major checked his DRADIS screen.

A formation of eight Raptors was behind them, clearly following them to pick up anything the Major saw as valuable.

"_Starbuck, Boomer: you know these things aren't as fast as your Vipers_."

Before Starbuck could get started, the Major pressed a button in his cockpit.

Under the Mk I was a powerful jammer pod that would flood the wireless with enough static to make their ears bleed.

It had the issue of shutting off his wireless, but that was a bonus.

After about 20 seconds, he lifted his finger off the button.

"_What the frak was THAT_?"

"Something to shut you the hell up. Now, let's focus on the job."

He saw Starbuck shake her head, but she complied.

"Raptor 058, keep an eye out for Cylon contacts. I'd rather not get screwed."

"_Psycho, Boomer: copy that_."

The Major flipped another switch, engaging the autopilot.

"Turn on your autopilots. I need you aware and alert, not numb from keeping your hands on the stick too long. Not a word, Starbuck!"

2 hours later

"Well, I was not expecting THIS."

Wreckage was everywhere.

"Raptor team, stay outside the debris field. Vipers, on me."

Starbuck heard Crashdown say 'fraking right we're not going in there', but said nothing about it.

The Major was interested in whatever was in the field.

Then again, who the hell could've made it?

The Cylons?

Doubtful.

"Frak me. THAT'S why you want to search this thing. You're looking for a beacon or something that'll lead us to Earth!"

"_I was thinking more along the lines of investigate and/or salvage_."

The Mk I led the way, dodging massive chucks of dull yellow debris.

"That shit looks like it came off a ship."

They came up on a larger section, mounted with CIWS batteries and large gun turrets.

"Yup, it came off a ship. Raptor 058, contact _Galactica._ I want to salvage some of this shit, and I'll need an large FTL-capable ship to do it."

"_Psycho, Hotdog: I'm seeing fraking giant Cylons in this shit_!"

The Major's Viper spun in a slow circle, looking at the massive machines.

The Major shook his head as he got a good look at them.

"Not likely: I see cockpit hatches on some of these things, and most of them are open."

He got close to a 0005 lookalike that was missing its' arms with an open cockpit.

The pilot was dead: fried by radiation.

"Got a body inside one of them. Fried by a massive overdose of Cerenkov radiation, from the look of it."

Starbuck paled.

That only happened with very old or untuned FTL drives.

"Frak me."

She spotted a 'Cylon' with a closed hatch.

"Some of them have closed hatches, Major."

"_Hopefully, they've got survivors in them. As much as I want to salvage this stuff, I'd rather it not be a complete graveyard. I've got issues with that_."

The Vipers moved through the debris, and Hotdog spotted a massive machine, easily the size of _Galactica's_ main hull.

"_Whoa. Major, you seeing this_?"

"Indeed I am. Raptor 058, Psycho: I'm sending video to you. Relay it to _Galactica_ CIC: I think Commander Adama would like to see this."

The jammer pod also had a recon package attached to it, recording and sending live video to the Raptors, who relayed it to Galactica.

"Galactica, _Hotdog: seeing a lot of intact giant Cylons here_."

"Hotdog, those things have cockpits."

"_So do Raiders, if you're smart about it_."

"Yours was makeshift, Starbuck, and-Sweet daughters of Zeus."

Starbuck turned to see what the Major saw: a ship, almost all white (sans the red and black near the bottom) and just the right size for launching machines like the huge 'Cylons'.

"Major, we just struck gold."

"_Damn right. _Galactica,_ Psycho: you seeing this, Commander Adama_?"

Battlestar Galactica: CIC

"Psycho, Actual: I do."

Both men stared at the screens that normally displayed the DRADIS readouts.

"_It's completely intact, Actual. And with the amount of salvage from the rest of the debris field, we're going to need more then one ship_."

"Agreed. I'll inform the President."

"_Copy that, Actual. Get a couple more Raptors out here, load them with Marines if you can, sir: I'd like a good look at the inside of that ship_."

Adama adjusted his glasses.

'Of course you would.'

The man was an engineer and a scientist.

He barely paid any attention to the Fall of the Colonies, although he was VERY pissed at the deaths of his family.

Out of everyone, he was the only one to get any sleep during the 33 Incident.

He didn't take part of the day-to-day activities that most of the crew went through.

His job was to make sure _Galactica_ was ready to be turned into a museum.

Once the war started, he quickly helped get the weapons systems online and made sure everything was ready for combat.

After that...he was useless.

He wasn't well liked because he was a sign of the ship's retirement.

Now? Now the man was ALIVE again.

Useful.

"Dee, patch me through to Colonial One. I need to speak with the President."

"Aye, sir."

Viper 149

They had found three intact ships (the Major called the giant one a Mobile Fortress, though, and she could see why) and 14 intact super-sized pilotable Cylons.

Starbuck identified pieces of at least 50 or more.

Predictably, the Major wanted every piece.

She saw the reason, (upgrading _Galactica's_ very, VERY basic weapons loadout) but seriously, it would take WEEKS to salvage what could be salvaged!

Still, the Major was cackling.

CACKLING. (AN: Picture Japanese Dub Kenpachi Zaraki. The English Dub one isn't crazy enough)

It was giving them all a headache.

"Major, shut the frak up!"

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

If the man weren't so useful, Kara would've dumped every KEW round she had into the fraking bastard.

"Actual, can I kill him?"

"_While you would be doing the universe a great deal of good in killing him, Starbuck, we still need him_."

The crazy Major was flying around in circles, making the female pilot dizzy.

"By the way, I thought the Mk II was more maneuverable then the Mk I. How the hell is he outturning me?"

"_His Mk I's more like a Mk IV after was modifications he made to it during the War, Starbuck. Only someone in a Mk VII can beat him while he's at the controls of that damned thing_."

"Commander, he's insane."

Adama's voice suddenly had a trace of humor in it, and not even the wireless could remove it.

"_That's the Pinkerton Family as a whole_."

Starbuck sighed and gave up.

"So, how the frak are we dragging this crap back to _Galactica?"_

"Vergon Express, Greenleaf _and_ Monarch_ will tow the wreckage back in shifts. We'll pull in_ Gideon, Baah Pakal _and_ Pyxis in four hours if we don't have most of the material."

At that moment, it seemed the Major regained his sanity.

"_Recommend you pull them in now, sir. There's too much for just three ships to drag out_."

"Insane or not, I have to agree with him."

"_Speaking of insane, I'm going to try boarding one of the ships. Anyone care to join me_?"

Starbuck resisted ramming her Viper into his in an attempt to kill the man.

As soon as he spoke, though, a trio of Raptors jumped in.

"_You rang, Crazy_?"

The Major chuckled over the wireless.

"_I did. We're boarding the white ship, and I need you_."

3 years. That's how long it's been since I started _THAB_ and entered the world of Fanfiction.

Since the original version's not doing it for me, (I can't finish the storyline, as I sucked back then and had no clue where I was actually going with it) I figured I would start again.

Same cast, same basic plot, different plot devices. (In short, NO time travel/FTL drive overload like I used in _Valkyrie's Flight_. What the fuck was I THINKING back then?)

Instead of the _Resident Evil_ characters I used in the original, I think I'll pull out more anime ones this time.

Which ones, I'm not sure.

Still, I should thank Universal for making more _BSG_ material I can use.

_Blood and Chrome's_ pocket Battlestar, the _Osiris_, is almost perfect for CCE work, and if Grea lets me, I can use his original ships.

The ships seen in the original version...I'm keeping those. I like my _Zeus_-Class Battlestar Dreadnoughts.

Thank God I still have those stories posted, otherwise I'd be working from scratch. Again.

Another guessing game: which ship sank this day? (May 27th)

Make the correct guess and you get a prize.

Next Time on _THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition_: The Mad Major and his Marines board the _Archangel,_ and the Cylons strike.

Ja Ne!


	2. Chapter 1: New Friends, Old Enemies

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 1: New Friends, Old Enemies, Bigger Problems, Evil Solutions (Extended and Corrected)

The Major opened the canopy of his Viper, hopping out and trying to find an external control panel to open the massive catapult door.

Needless to say, he was having a few...problems.

"I knew I should've taken a piss before I left _Galactica!"_

Even genetically engineered humans needed to urinate.

It took him five minutes to find a panel, and (with a few distractions) it took him 15 minutes to hack in and open the doors.

He wasn't expecting the hatch to open upwards, flinging him toward one of the Raptors. Titanium skeleton or not, this was going to hurt.

His back hit the bottom of Raptor 058, scaring the living shit out of Crashdown and Boomer.

"_What the frak, Major_?!"

"...Did anyone get the serial number of the ship that ran me over?"

Boomer engaged the dorsal RCS thrusters and shoved the Major toward the _Archangel's_ open port hatch.

She was not aiming for the Major's Mk I Viper, which the Major hit on his way over.

"YOU FRAKKING BITCH!"

The Mk I spun and the starboard wing hit the Major in the back, launching him forward with greater velocity.

"_Boomer, you recording this_?"

The then-unknown Cylon agent looked at her ECO and smirked.

"_Nice_."

Inside the Battlestar equivalent, the Major bounced off the deck three times, then hit a large metal bulkhead.

In Raptor 058, Boomer had somehow produced a scorecard and gave his landing a 9.7.

"Boomer, when I get back, your ass is MINE. Raptors 647 and 879, get in here!"

Two Raptors flew into the hatch and sat down on the deck as the Major worked the controls to shut the hatch.

It was likely the ship had an atmosphere, and the Major didn't want to kill everyone on board.

The huge doors slammed shut, and air was cycled back into the catapult.

"Debus and move out. We have a ship to secure!"

The Marines left their Raptors, and the Major took off his helmet, then drew his .357 magnum while he opened the hanger bay doors.

Outside

Starbuck smirked at the sight of the spinning Mk I.

"Nice work, Boomer."

Seconds after saying that, though, a Cylon Raider jumped in.

The horseshoe-shaped fighter saw the Mk I, but before it could fire, the 50mm autocannon mounted to Boomer's Raptor shredded it.

"_Galactica_, Boomer: we got Cylons out here!" "_Copy that, Boomer. Where's Psycho_?"

"Galactica, _Psycho: I'm on board one of the ships, the LCAM-X01A _Archangel_, with my Marine escort_. _We're attempting to activate the weapons and propulsion system_s."

"_Get the frak out of there, Major! If the Cylon_s-"

Before Tigh could finish, the massive form of a Cylon Baseship jumped in.

"_Oh, frak_."

"Galactica, _a Baseship just jumped in: there's no way we can get out of here without getting killed! The only way we're getting back is if I get the weapons on board _Archangel_ online_!"

The Baseship started launching Raiders by the bucketload, all heading for the _Archangel._

"Archangel, Galactica:_ we're going in_."

"What?!"

Just as Starbuck asked, _Galactica_ jumped in behind the Baseship, firing her massive 250cm main batteries at the Baseship from above.

Unlike a Battlestar, the baseship didn't have dorsal weapons.

The ship had to rotate to return fire, and it was a slow process.

While that was going on, one of the three 'arms' was destroyed, ripped from the Cylon vessel by internal explosions, and the other two dorsal ones were made useless by internal damage.

Of course, that wasn't going to work a second time.

Even so, that meant most of the Raiders had to pull back to defend the Baseship rather then attack _Galactica._

Two words came to mind: Turkey Shoot.

"_Nice one, Commander! Broke her arm with that one_!"

The _Archangel_ faced the Baseship, then armed her 225cm main guns.

"_Take this, you Cylon fraktards_!"

Starbuck expected four Kinetic Energy Weapon rounds to leave the barrels. Instead, green beams of death launched from the weapons.

"HOLY SHIT!"

The beams cored the Baseship, causing an explosion that destroyed most of the Raiders.

The rest were mopped up by the Vipers.

"Archangel, Galactica: _good work_."

He laughed on the other end.

"_Don't thank me. Thank the Captain of the _Archangel._ She was happy to help_."

LCAM-X01A _Archangel_

Murrue Ramius looked at the Major.

"My pleasure, Major."

While he scared the living shit out of her when he none-too-gently woke her up, when she saw the missiles heading in their general direction, she decided to forgo the introductions until AFTER they were safe.

The Major moved the weapons control officer back into his seat.

"Marine team, move on to the second ship_. Archangel_ is secure."

"_Copy that, Major_."

He looked at the CO of the experimental warship.

"Any issues you have with the other ship and her CO? Ditch them. You're in deep space, Captain."

"HOW we got here is a bigger issue, Major."

The Major shrugged.

"I have a few theories as to how. Right now, we need your help salvaging this wreckage. Unless you haven't noticed, Galactica's not exactly in the best shape."

Murrue looked at the old Battlestar.

The Major was right: half her main guns simply weren't there, the AA batteries were basic in the extreme... Yeah, they needed help.

The wreckage included ZAFT BeCUEs, BABIs, even a _Lesseps_-Class land battleship.

The latter would upgrade _Galactica's_ armament by a factor of three.

And now they had the _Archangel_ and _Minerva_, which needed to get home.

The best way was with the Colonials.

"Good news, with your help, I can get _Galactica_ up and running within a few days. Even fit your ships with FTL drives."

She dumbly nodded before realizing what the Major just said.

"What?"

"Faster then light drive. I figured that since you were knocked out like a bag of bolts that you were caught in a natural FTL event. Rare as all hell, but they do happen from time to time."

Murrue nodded.

"Would you mind explaining what's going on, other then people trying to kill us?"

The Major chuckled nervously.

"It's complicated. But I think I can tell you the abridged version in five minutes."

Battlestar _Galactica:_ CIC

"Gutsy move, Bill."

The old Commander looked at his XO.

"It worked, and Major Pinkerton can salvage the wreckage much faster if _Galactica's_ nearby. Hopefully, he can get that thing's FTL drive online."

Tigh looked at the DRADIS screen.

"Doubt they've got FTL drives, Bill. This looks like a natural event. Radiation levels certainly look like it is."

Adama nodded.

His XO had a point.

"Well, he's got dozens of Raiders out there that he can strip down. He's an engineering genius. Making an FTL drive should be easy for someone like him."

Tigh chuckled.

That was definitely true.

"Get the rest of the Fleet here now! We'll use the fraking debris to shield them if we can."

They wouldn't survive long without _Galactica_, even if a few of their ships had weapons.

The _Adriatic's_ missiles were almost useless against a Baseship, and other then _Galactica_, she was the heaviest armed ship in the Fleet.

The rest of the armed ships had a few KEW guns, but that was it.

They needed _Galactica_.

Dualla barked out the orders to the Fleet captains, getting them to head for the debris field.

The CAP would escort the 75 civies over, but three Vipers and a Raptor weren't much against a Baseship or a horde of Raiders.

BB-01 _Minerva_: 2 hours later

Talia Gladys woke up in zero gravity to a number of armed men securing the bridge.

"Don't bother, Captain. We're not here to hurt you."

Talia rubbed her head.

"What the hell did you people do?"

"Just came aboard, seeing if you needed help."

The Marine faced the _Minerva's_ CO.

"Sergeant Mathias, Battlestar _Galactica."_

Those last two words made _no_ sense to her.

"Is that some new ZAFT ship?"

The Marine shook her head.

"Colonial Battlestar."

"Sarge, everybody's fine. We should get back to _Galactica_."

Mathias grabbed her radio.

"Major, you there?"

"_Still on the _Archangel._ SitRep_."

"Everything's fine on this end, sir. Requesting permission to RTB back to _Galactica."_

"_Copy that. Granted, so long as the crew are secured in their quarters for the time being. Patch me into __her CO_."

She tossed the radio to Talia.

"All yours."

Mathias and the two Marines she had with her left the bridge, moving to the hanger where their Raptors were waiting.

"This is Captain Gladys, ZAFT battleship _Minerva_."

"_Goddess of the Hunt, huh? Major Pinkerton, Battlestar _Galactica,_ currently accessing damage to the_ Archangel."

Talia found the bridge controls, raising it.

It was only then she discovered she was in deep space.

The _Archangel_, the massive MF that was destroying cities all over Europe and a huge warship shaped roughly like an alligator hung in the black.

"My God."

"_Captain_?"

She looked at the radio.

"Sorry. How-"

"_I'd rather explain that to both of you on _Galactica._ Wireless isn't exactly secure_."

Dozens of craft were towing useable debris to the massive warship which she assumed was _Galactica._

Her duty was now VERY clear: get home.

The safety of her crew superseded everything else.

Still, she would like to know what the fuck was going on.

"As soon as my crew are awake, I'll head over to _Galactica,_ Major."

"_Good. We have a lot to talk about, ma'am_."

Outside the GFAS-X1 Destroy: Same Time

The cockpit opened with a hiss of escaping air.

"That the pilot? She's a fraking kid!"

"I'd noticed. Get her the hell out of that thing!"

The two marines grabbed her and got the girl back to the Raptor.

"Major, this is Private Ishida."

"_Pinkerton here_."

The black haired, glasses-wearing PFC Uryū Ishida removed his helmet as soon as the Raptor was repressurized.

"The pilot of that massive thing out there? It's a girl, roughly 15 years old!"

"_Frak me. Get her back to _Galactica,_ and make sure she's in sick bay_!"

He looked at Raptor 371's pilot.

"You heard him!"

The Raptor turned toward _Galactica's_ port flight pod.

Battlestar _Galactica:_ 3 hours later

Major Ronald Pinkerton was many things, (insane being on the forefront of everyone's mind) but stupid, he was not.

"Oh, this is going to be a BITCH."

He was looking at the weapons taken from the debris.

The turret mounted ones were roughly the same size as the ones on _Galactica,_ but they used focused plasma as their destructive tool.

Making them work on the 50 year old warship was going to be a complete bitch in and of itself.

The 12.7mm and 76mm CIWS, he could mount on other ships in the Fleet in computer controlled turrets.

Missiles, he could modify to work with Colonial launchers.

These 225mm plasma cannons?

A bit more of a bitch.

Still, he was his job to see what would work and what wouldn't.

"Major!"

The head of the CCE looked at one of the knuckledraggers.

"Cally, what's up?"

"They found something in the wreck of that ship. Most of us won't go near it."

He tone turned grave.

"We think it's a nuke."

The Major rolled his eyes.

"I'll take a look at this 'nuke'. You can separate the armor plates. I want the ones that are intact. We'll be fitting them to _Galactica's_ hull later!"

Cally gave a mock salute, then got to work on the armor plating salvaged from that _Lesseps._

A group of mechanics surrounded the device, but no one was willing to touch it.

"Make a hole."

The knuckledraggers parted, and the Major looked at the 'nuke'.

It had stereotypical nuclear markings, but the Major knew that it wasn't a nuke just because it had the markings.

He read something on the casing: Neutron Jammer Mk II.

"It's fine. Drag it to Baltar's lab, though: I want to take a proper look at it later."

Two of Tyrol's men put it on a cart, then wheeled it out of the port flight pod.

He had better things to do.

"Oh, Boomer?"

Outside Battlestar _Galactica:_ 7 hours later

He said her ass was his.

And this was how he was getting it.

"Regretting bashing him into his Viper?"

Boomer shook her head.

"Not one bit."

She was moving one of the Tristan turrets into some of the empty barbettes.

There were four turrets, and Boomer was going to help Mr. Crazy install them.

"Major, I think turret one is in."

"_Two more meters_."

She gently touched the controls, pushing the Raptor and its' cargo down another two meters.

"_That's good. I'll secure the turret and test the linkages. YOU get the next one ready to move_."

Boomer disconnected from the turret, then headed back to the cluttered port flight pod deck, where the other three turrets were.

_Archangel _and_ Minerva_ were in formation with _Galactica_ and the rest of the Fleet, adding AA coverage to the remaining two thirds of the Fleet.

"_Boomer, Psycho: Tristan turret is online_."

"That was fast."

"_The linkages, you dunce. Testing traverse and barrel elevation_."

The turret spun 360 degrees, and the barrels tilted upward at an angle of 70.

"_CIC, give me a target: I need to see if this thing still works_."

Boomer chuckled.

"How about the _Astral Queen_?"

"_Tempting, but we still need that prison ship. What about one of those Heavy Raiders_?"

Raptor 097 towed out one of the damaged and completely stripped down box-like Heavy Raiders.

"_Alright, camera is online. I can see it. 097, cut the cable and get the frak out of there_."

"Copy that."

She cut the cable and got the hell out.

Inside the barbette, Ron was hooking the Tristan into the Battlestar's power grid.

He had some power, but that was to move the gun.

Now he needed more to fire it.

"_External camera online. Tone and lock_."

The crosshairs centered in on the stripped down Raider.

"_Firing_!"

The Tristan fired, destroying the Raider with one shot.

"Nice shot, Psycho."

"_Don't thank me yet. I've only got manual targeting online. I'll need to hook it into the fire control computers for it to be a real success_."

He got back inside the Battlestar, then moved to another turret.

This area of the ship was open to the vacuum, seeing as there was no one to operate the massive guns that weren't there.

It was time to repeat the process four more times.

Of course, four turrets weren't going to be enough.

Thankfully, some of the wreckage contained what looked like beam cannons on the same scale.

He planned on making makeshift turrets out of those, using the armored missile launcher boxes used by the BeCUEs.

It would take a good long while, but _Galactica_ would be deadlier then ever.

Of course, the Raiders would eventually pick out the beam cannons and try to destroy them.

With Commander Adama's permission, he would install a few CIWS cannons taken from the _Lesseps_ and dot them throughout the hull.

76mm cannon fire was a bitch, and even Heavy Raiders would back the hell off when facing a hail of fire from Picus turrets.

And _Galactica_ wasn't the only ship he planned on upgunning.

A few ships in the Fleet were military surplus.

That he could definitely work with.

Ever read _Dreadnought's Revenge_? It's in the _BSG_ section.

You can tell I had a few ideas from them.

The Baseship one, though, I came up with on my own. I had the thought 'it doesn't have any dorsal weapons. Any idiot could take advantage of that blind spot', and jumped _Galactica_ in right above the fucker.

Upgunned Battlestar _Galactica_ armament:

600 dual point-defense Kinetic Energy Weapons; 40-50 Primary Cannons; 4 x two-barrel Tristan high-energy plasma beam cannon turrets, 12 x makeshift beam cannon turrets made from the beam cannons taken from the destroyed GaZuOOTs in the debris field and many x 76mm Picus CIWS turrets dotted throughout the hull (to be built and installed)

Miscellaneous: 1 x Neutron Jammer, 150 tons worth of armor plating (yet to be installed)

Of course, I've learned my lessons in storywriting, and makeshift shit doesn't work forever, so everything will break down sooner or later.

Let the ass kicking begin!

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: Making an FTL drive while under attack is never easy, but at least it's getting done.

Ja Ne!


	3. Chapter 2: On The Run

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 2: On The run/A Busy Man

I know this is breaking my usual thing, but this is an answer to an anonymous review: They're not friends. They are allies of convenience at the moment. They don't have a choice but to work together. Besides, if someone starts shooting at you, do you ask questions or do you shoot back? I'd shoot back and ask questions later. Later, when they've been together for a good long while, they will befriend one another. Now though? Both parties want to get to Earth. And the Cylons want them both dead. As for the Tristans? I was a bit rushed and very, VERY tired, so I wasn't really paying attention at the time. It's what happens when you're up all night. I'll fix the time issues in a few hours.

Three days had passed, and the Major had been a very busy man.

Upon discovering that the _Lesseps_-Class ship used a matter-antimatter reactor, (AN: They have positron cannons, for God's sake! It's extremely likely that they've got M/AM reactors powering their ships! Explains the total destruction of everything in _SEED_, too!) he had been VERY busy attempting to take it apart and install it on _Galactica._

All too gleefully, if you asked Boomer, who was forced to be his personal delivery girl. She had been picking the debris field clean, as per the man's orders.

"Connections complete. Testing CIWS emplacements."

20 76mm Picus CIWS guns opened fire on five different stripped down Heavy Raiders.

For anything, that was a _lot_ of firepower.

The 76mm autocannons ripped the armored boxes apart, showing total coverage of the dorsal side of the ship.

The ventral side was another story.

Still, there were dozens of Picus cannons in the Mobile Suits that were recovered from the debris.

Making gun emplacements for them with the unholy amount of parts available was simple.

Reprogramming the computers from those MSs to work the turrets was more of a challenge, but the Major wasn't that bad a programmer.

In fact, he had the knuckledraggers making the turrets in the port flight pod right now.

Pleased though they weren't, they had their jobs to do, same as the Major.

Besides, they had the pleasure of saying that even if the Raiders got past the Vipers, they wouldn't get past the Picus CIWS cannons, as they were getting installed all over the ship by the knuckledraggers and the Major.

"_Test successful, Major. Nothing's getting at those Tristan turrets. Or anything else up there_."

The Major, who had turned a storage room near the top of the ship into the main control room for the CIWS cannons and was currently reprogramming a computer from a GaZuOOT in it, snorted over the wireless.

"Nothing's stopping them from coming in _under_ their protective umbrella."

He completed the wipe and began installing the program needed to control five of the guns, as all of them under one would overwhelm the computer in question. Since they weren't being connected to anything but the DRADIS, Ron could network them to his heart's content.

And network them he did.

This would make sure all of the guns were shooting at different targets.

A ton of 76mm rounds flying into space was was good and all, but not at one target.

The IFF was also tuned to perfection: it would only hit targets that didn't have friendly IFF signals.

It would take the Major a better part of a month to get the cables properly shunted through the walls and into the room, but it wasn't as though he had anything else to do.

"_How's Protect Heaven doing, Major_?"

Of course, that wasn't exactly true. Using parts from the destroyed Raiders, he was building an FTL drive for the _Archangel._

The _Minerva_ could fit inside the port flight pod, if only barely.

The _Archangel_ was almost the size of an _Osiris_-Class pocket Battlestar in width, while the _Minerva_ was longer then the _Archangel,_ but was narrower then the white ship.

So the Major had to equip it with an FTL drive.

He had enough large parts from the destroyed Baseship to make it work, so it wasn't impossible.

Still, the _Archangel_ was a small ship, and even if she could destroy a Baseship in one volley, she would eventually be overwhelmed, so _Galactica_ had to stay to protect her.

And the Fleet was almost defenseless without the Battlestar, so they had to stay behind as well.

"Slowly. Even with those parts, it's going to take a while. Besides, Boomer, this wireless channel isn't secure, so I shouldn't even be talking to you about it."

He fit the computer into place, then started hooking it up to CIWS turrets 11 through 15.

"Tow another one into p-"

The alarms went off. Galactica was under attack. Again.

"Ey-ya. _Again?_ Haven't they learned their lesson by now?"

_Galactica_ had been accosted by two Baseships in as many days.

One was torn to pieces by the Tristans, supplying the Major with more parts.

The other jumped away before it was destroyed.

The Major listened in as his turrets ripped apart any Raiders that got past the flak screen and the Vipers.

He shook his head and continued installing the computers.

Battlestar _Galactica:_ CIC

"Tristans firing!"

The computer-guided turrets recorded a hit, ripping off two of the Baseship's arms.

Like the day before, it jumped before the Battlestar could finish the job.

"Well, at least the fraking Cylons are the ones running this time!"

Adama looked at his XO.

"I know how you feel, Saul, but calm down. Those turrets are barely working, and the Major's up to his armpits in making the rest of those weapons we recover work on Galactica."

Tigh looked at Adama.

"Well, as long as they're doing their job and kicking the shit out of the toasters, why should we care?"

Gaeta walked over to the plotting table.

"Sir, Picus turrets 16 through 20 are online. Major Pinkerton's asking if he can head over to the _Archangel_ and begin building her FTL drive, and if we can salvage any intact Raiders."

Adama blinked.

"Why does he want an intact Raider?"

"Gods know, sir."

He sighed.

"Tell Boomer to bring one in. And define 'intact', Mr. Gaeta."

Battlestar _Galactica_: port flight pod

The Major hopped into his trusty Mk I Viper and put on his helmet before being shoved into the launch tube.

The canopy closed, and the Viper was launched into the black.

He didn't bother kicking on the engines, using the velocity taken from the catapult launch to bring the Mk I toward the _Archangel._

"_Archangel,_ Viper 357: requesting permission to come aboard with cargo shuttles 149er and 074." "_Viper 357, permission granted_."

The combat fighter landed on the starboard flight deck, followed by the two shuttles beside her.

The hatch closed, and the catapult repressurized, followed by the hanger doors opening.

The three Colonial craft took off once more, using their RCS thrusters to enter the hanger, making it easier for the technicians to do their job and unload the shuttles carrying the valuable FTL drive parts. The Major opened his canopy and left the Viper, leaping into the air and touching the ceiling.

"Chief Murdock?"

The aforementioned man looked at the Major.

"Yeah?"

He kicked off and landed relatively close to the man.

"Major Ronald Pinkerton. I'm here to help install the new FTL drive, along with the hard and software you're going to need to operate it."

Murdock groaned in annoyance.

"How long do you think it'll take to install?"

"FTL drives are pretty bulky and put out a lot of heat. I'll need a big space that's not being used."

Murdock nodded.

He wasn't so sure about the Major, but he seemed to know what he was doing.

Must be a knuckledragger thing.

"Aft end of the ship. Follow me."

Murdock showed the Major the way through the assault carrier.

"You wanted us to disconnect the communications subsystem from everything else. Care to explain?"

"Cylons are known to send computer viruses into networks. Standard CCE practice is to network everything but communications: we work faster without the risk of getting fraked over. Regular Fleet doesn't think that way, but the Commander wants this ship ready to leave soon, so he's leaving the networking to me."

Murdock shrugged.

"Then we've got work to do, Major."

BB-01 _Minerva:_ 8 hours later

Lunamaria Hawke looked at the Mk II Vipers flying CAP outside.

Lightly armed by anyone's standards, (two 30mm cannons) but agile enough to dodge the auto targeting systems of a Mobile Suit.

At least, that's what Shinn told her when he was asked to test the Impulse's targeting system on the Vipers.

Agile enough to avoid getting killed, but too lightly armed to do anything to a Mobile Suit.

Still, they were built to kill other fighters, not tangle with giant robots.

While she wore her duty uniform, the _Minerva_ was not being used by her ZAFT crew.

Instead, for the safety of the Fleet, Colonial and regular _Archangel_ personnel were flown over to take over operations until Dr. Gaius Baltar could determine if they were 'Cylons' or not.

The _Archangel's_ crew were tested first, (the Major had helped improve the testing process and decrease its' testing time by a factor of 10) and they were clean.

Since the crew of the _Minerva_ were out of consciousness much longer, they weren't.

So far, 51 people had been cleared, including herself, her sister Meyrin, Shinn, Athrun and Captain Gladys.

Ray's test results were a bit screwy, so he was still locked up.

At least something good was coming out of the whole affair: her ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Gunner was being fixed, along with the Savior and the ZAKU Phantom.

The fact that all the spare parts came from wrecked Mobile Suits didn't help, but at least they weren't useless now.

The few times Major Pinkerton came on board, though, he had the look of an insane kid in a candy store.

He was asking all kinds of questions about the ZAKUs and the Impulse, mostly around their weapons systems.

Especially the Wizard Packs.

He scared Luna, but at least the man wasn't going to DO anything to them, even if he was crazy.

Lord of the Crazies then said something about almost all of the Mobile Suits on board being 'unsuitable', but said the Savior was 'almost perfect'.

She wondered what the Major meant.

"Enjoying the escorts?"

Shinn Asuka landed beside Luna, then watched the tiny fighters fly past.

"They almost remind me of the Core Splendor."

Luna watched as three more Vipers, Mk VIIs this time, fly past.

"Half tempted to transfer to _Galactica_ and take over flying one of those things."

"Well, they could use the extra help, and your ZAKU's not going to be combat capable for a while."

Shinn then sighed.

"But they only have a limited number of fighters, and from what I've been told, no way to build more." "Well, we can always help build them. We've got the tools."

"Just not the materials."

Then they heard the insane cackling of Major Ronald 'Psycho' Pinkerton.

Clearly, he was taking a break from building that FTL drive on the _Archangel_ and decided to introduce them to his madness once again.

"I'm a genius!"

Luna narrowed her eyes. "An insane one."

He entered the observation port, then looked at Luna.

"I need your ZAKU."

He turned to Shinn.

"And the Impulse."

Shinn looked at him cautiously.

"Why?"

"I need the Silhouette and Wizard packs that they use, to be exact. I've had an idea."

Both pilots looked at one another.

"Oh, fine, I don't need you two, anyways: just your Mobile Suits!"

He hopped off, cackling like a loon.

Which he was.

"I get the feeling he's going to play Frankenstein with our MSs."

Shinn hopped after him without answering her comment.

Battlestar _Galactica:_ CIC

"He's insane, but he's damn good at his job."

The Major had recruited a _lot_ of civilian help in building the turrets for the beam cannons he planned on installing in _Galactica's_ empty barbettes, and to route the cabling to the CIWS control room.

To quote the Major, 'they've got nothing to do, so I'm giving them something to do'.

Beam Turret 1 (they had yet to come up with a proper name for the makeshift weapons emplacements) was built and ready to be installed, as well as 16 Picus turrets.

Now, if the people on the _Archangel_ were to be believed, he had something else planned.

That was not a good thing.

An active Major Pinkerton was a bad sign of things to come.

"He's been looking at the blueprints for those, what're they called?"

Adama looked at Tigh.

"Mobile Suits."

The 'giant Cylons', as they were called at first, were a LOT deadlier then the Vipers and Raptors.

Hell, a few BABIs and ZAKUs could outgun _Galactica._ (Which was why the Major was so focused on upgrading _Galactica's_ armament)

"He might be planning on building one."

"Who the frak would pilot it?"

Adama cleaned his glasses and looked at the DRADIS before answering.

"The Major himself. He worked for Graystone Industries before the war, and he helped finalize the production of the 0005 Centurions. He has no real hate for the Cylons, and we all know that."

"His family's dead."

"We all lost family during the Fall. His went down fighting."

They faintly heard Dualla talking to the Major over the wireless.

He was requesting to RTB back to _Galactica._

"Batten down the hatches. Crazy's coming back."

Adama looked at Tigh.

"I thought that was a given. He _lives_ on _Galactica_."

Tigh looked at his friend and CO.

"Bill, the man is practically a machine. He could be up for half a year and not be tired."

"That makes him even crazier."

Battlestar _Galactica_: port flight pod

The Major hopped out of his fighter, grinning like a loon.

This was a sign for everyone to back the hell away.

"Keep working, people. And don't do anything to attract his attention."

The Major walked on (AN: Name the game I took THAT reference from) and eventually reached CIC.

"Commander! I have many things to show you later! But first, I have a LOT of work to do!"

He put the disk on the plotting table, then practically SKIPPED off to the workshops where the turrets were being built.

"...Bill?"

"Yes?"

"He scares me."

"There is no man in the Fleet that _isn't_ scared of Ronald Pinkerton, Saul."

LCAM-X01A _Archangel_

"Shut that damn thing off before it burns a hole in the hull!"

They were warned about the heat the drive put off.

What they weren't told how much it put off.

"We'll need a new heat sink for this thing! The old one won't work!"

One of the technicians groaned.

"How the hell are we going to make a heat sink in the middle of nowhere?!"

"That Cylon Baseship's got to have one or two! We'll go over to _Galactica_ tomorrow and find one! Until then, shut that fucking thing off!"

Murdock could not believe this.

More modifications to the _Archangel's_ hull could make her more vulnerable: the heat sink needed for the FTL drive would need to be mounted outside.

If a missile hit it, the explosion could easily destroy part of the ship.

"Argh, I need a drink."

With our mad, mad Major

"With enough Gun, you can kill ANYTHING." The civies looked at the Major, who had a grin that could rival the Joker's on his face. (AN: From the 1989 film starring Jack Nicholson, not the newer one) That grin scared the fraking CYLONS. And they weren't supposed to KNOW fear. Thus, they backed the hell away. The grin disappeared when Jammer, one of the knuckledraggers on the project, approached. "How are my big guns going?" Jammer, although clearly terrified of the Major, (he was clinically insane, but too valuable to lock up) looked at the man. "Well, we don't have a clue how these guns work-" "Focused plasma contained and propelled via shaped magnetic fields." "Oh. How the hell did you know how they worked?" The Major gave him a look. "CCE was experimenting with something like this. The Battlestar Athena's equipped with 6 batteries of them, but we couldn't get them working. If I get the chance, I'll find the Athena, bring her here and get those guns working properly." "You even sure the CCE task force even exists, Major? I mean, the toasters-" "The Cylons may be thorough, but we have 10 Battlestar Dreadnoughts and hundreds of support vessels. I have yet to see anything that can get past the firepower of a Zeus-Class BSD." Zeus: a fitting name for the most powerful warship in the Colonial Fleet. Over 90 kilometers long and 55 wide, fit with 48 batteries equipped with massive 1200cm guns, 80 batteries using guns that were the same caliber as Galactica's main batteries, thousands of independently targeting CIWS turrets like the ones the Major installed on Galactica, 9000 40mm KEW flak guns and two flight pods that carried ten squadrons of Vipers apiece, she put any other ship to shame with it came to ship-killing. And the Colonial Corps of Engineers had 10 of them, plus 3 subtypes built for asteroid smelting, tylium mining and spacecraft construction/repair. The massive ships were just ending their testing phase and were to be handed over to the regular Fleet a month prior. The Fall of the Colonies put an end to that plan, so they were presumably still with the CCE. "I've heard of those things. Who designed those monsters? I mean, I know the CCE built them-" "Me." Jammer looked at the Major. "Along with the Valkyrie and Mercury-Class Battlestars. I'm older then the Old Man. I just look like I'm in my late twenties."

"Oh. Frak. The Crazy Old Man is what you are."

The Major grinned.

"I do my best. And get those turrets outside after you're done with routing the-"

The klaxons went off once more, signaling that the Cylons were attacking once more.

"Not again." Tigh's voice came in over the speakers.

"_All pilots, get your asses out there! We've got five Baseships out there_!"

"Oh, HELL."

The Major raced to the launch bay, and quickly got into his Viper.

"Get me out there, NOW!"

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

Even with the Tristans and Picus CIWS turrets, _Galactica_ could not hold off five Baseships on her own. Adama knew this.

"_Archangel_, _Galactica_ Actual: how long until you can jump?!"

"_We still need a larger heat sink to use that damned thing_, Galactica! _And that hasn't even been brought over yet_!"

Adama looked at Dualla.

"Get me _Minerva_ Actual, NOW!"

"On it, Commander!"

Tigh looked at Adama.

"Bill, we need to take out those baseships, or we're dead."

"Colonel, coordinate with _Archangel_ and _Minerva_ Actual. We're going on the attack."

This would be the first time the three ship had actually gone into battle together.

"Aye, sir."

Tigh picked up a headset.

It was payback time.

Outside

"_Holy shit! That's_-"

"_At least 600 Raiders. We're outnumbered twelve to one, and that's just the regulars: I'm seeing Heavies, too_."

"_All fighters, _Galactica: g_et the hell out of there! _Archangel is firing _PC_!" Hotdog looked at the Major's Mk I. "_What the frak's a_-" "_It's a positron cannon! MOVE YOUR ASSES_!"

The Mk I flipped over, going full burner toward _Galactica_, followed by every other Viper.

The Raiders foolishly followed the Vipers, not noticing the _Archangel's_ twin Lohengrin Positron Cannons focused on the Raiders and the two Baseships behind them. "_Lohengrin_, _FIRE_!"

The ultimate destructive power in the universe rocketed from the two positron cannons, destroying all but one raider, and that one was fried: all the organic material was dead. It crashed in the starboard flight pod, destroying the bow-end window.

Now it was a ship-to-ship fight, and the Colonials had the advantage: they had fighter support.

The Cylons just lost all of theirs.

"_Holy frak_!"

"_All Vipers and Raptors, let's teach these frakers the Caprican Tango_!" (AN: Play _Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0_ OST track The Wrath of God in All its Fury now. I found it very fitting with the ass kicking the Cylons are about to get)

All of _Galactica's_ support craft Ivaned and sped toward the almost defenseless Baseships. They couldn't jump: most of the organic FTL controls were fried.

They still had missile control, though, but they didn't have anything that could kill fighters: they had the Raiders for that.

Apollo, Starbuck and Psycho led the charge, the latter screaming like a madman.

"_I haven't done this since Raptor Talon_!"

"_You nearly DIED because of that stunt during Raptor Talon_!"

"_What does not kill you makes you even deadlier! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_!"

30 and 40mm cannon fire arced from the Mk I, scoring hits on the missile launchers, destroying five and disabling 6 others.

"_He's insane_."

"_Yet he's not dead. He's got the right idea, though! Take out those launchers_!"

Bullets and missiles launched from every craft they had, beating the living shit out of the Baseship. _Galactica_, meanwhile, was beating the shit out of another Baseship.

With almost no threats from missiles and zero from nukes, (they had discovered what the N-Jammer was supposed to do) _Galactica_ was doing what she did best: kick the shit out of enemy targets.

Her flanks were protected by _Archangel_ and _Minerva_, who also meted out pain to the remaining Baseships with their Gottfrieds and Tristans, along with their heavy anti-ship missiles.

One Baseship managed to jump away, but only after taking extremely heavy damage.

The one getting its' ass handed to it by the support craft from _Galactica_ tried getting away, but the Vipers and missile armed Raptors were relentless.

It managed to activate the FTL drive, but exploded seconds before it could jump, making a pretty explosion. "_BOOM, BITCH! HAHAHAHA_!"

Everyone shook their heads.

The Major was insane, but he was enjoying himself.

All was right with the universe now.

And so I begin the ass kicking.

Eventually, the Cylons will get smart, but the Fleet isn't attacked too often in Season 1, so it'll take them a while.

And clearly I'm not throwing away the older version's Mobile Suits. My avatar's looking at the MSs on both ships. And he likes the Murasume.

That's right: the CDF-01 Dart will be making its' comeback.

Not until Season 2, though: _Galactica_ just doesn't have the facilities to build Mobile Suits.

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite: "Who the hell is going to handle the press? I mean, we can't let those MSs stay secret forever." Everyone looked at the Major, who blinked. "FRAK!"

Ja Ne!


	4. Chapter 3: Out of Gas

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 3: Out of Gas/Press Problems

The _Archangel_ knuckledraggers got their wish: the Major handed over the Cylon heat sink as soon as the attack ended and everything was normal. At that point, the Fleet (plus the _Archangel_ and the FTL drive-equipped Destroy) jumped off with the _Minerva_ tucked inside the port flight pod.

Installing an FTL drive in that ship would be much easier, since everyone could walk on or off from the docking port.

Of course, they soon discovered a problem: the Fleet's tylium reserves were below 10%. They needed more fuel, or the Cylons would start picking them off one by one.

Of course, that was not why the command staff (plus the Major and the President) were having a meeting in the Combat Operations Planning Room.

"Just one problem, Madam President. Who the hell is going to handle the press? I mean, we can't let those MSs stay secret forever."

Everyone looked at the Major, who blinked.

"FRAK!"

"You're the one that brought it up, Pinkerton."

"Up yours, Tigh. I'm not a PR person: I'm a fraking engineer."

Roslin looked at the Major.

"Which makes you perfect for the job. The Fleet needs the truth, and you have been studying these Mobile Suits. No other Colonial knows them better then you do."

"Well, I'll need help. Maybe one of the pilots."

"That's easily solved."

Everyone turned to face Cagalli Yula Athha, pilot of the MBF-02 Strike Rouge.

"I'm good at handling the press: I have to do it in Orb."

"...I don't want to know why YOU have to deal with the press."

Cagalli smirked.

"For a man that everyone thinks is insane, you're surprisingly sane."

The Major stood up from the planning table.

"I save my insanity for my creations. Once you get me started, I can never stop. The CCE knows that all too well."

Adama chortled.

"So do the knuckledraggers. You've had them working on those turrets for over a week. Speaking of which-"

"Yes, they'll be ready in a few days. I need to make sure they won't break down in combat."

Then his grin turned evil.

"Plus I have better news."

Everyone subconsciously backed away.

"Why the hell are you backing off? It's good!"

"That grin of yours. It's disturbing."

The Major quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? Either way, the news involves our nuclear missile problem. The Cylons were launching nukes by the bucketload at us those last few times and the missiles impacted the hull. I disarmed and recovered the warheads."

Cagalli's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.

"WHAT?!"

"_Galactica_ is now fully armed with 20 nuclear missiles, including the ones we already had. Not that we're going to use them anytime soon: with those beam cannons, we don't need them!"

Roslin looked at the Major.

"How come the nukes didn't explode?"

He looked at Cagalli. "She knows why."

"I do not-"

Then she remembered.

"OH. You recovered the N-Jammer from that Lesseps."

The Major gave a thumbs up.

Tigh was not impressed.

"What the hell is an N-Jammer?" The Major smirked.

"From what I can tell, any nuclear action is stopped when one of those is activated. Reactors, bombs and warheads? Useless. The Freedom's fit with a Canceler of some sort, so it has a nuclear reactor and can last damn near forever."

"Well, that's...good."

"Still need to get fuel, though."

Battlestar _Galactica_ forward viewing room: 2 hours later

Standing at the podium, wearing his midnight blue dress uniform (CCE personnel wore midnight blue while Colonial Fleet regulars wore navy blue for their normal and dress uniforms) and looking VERY uncomfortable was Major Ronald Pinkerton.

Standing beside him was Cagalli, wearing her very fancy Orb uniform.

"I HATE press conferences."

Cagalli looked at the Major.

"Oh? What's so bad about them?"

"The last time I had to give a press conference was 8 years ago. And I was fighting for the survival of the CCE at the time."

Rear Admiral Helena Cain tried to hijack the independent Colonial Corps of Engineers and put it under regular control, while it was clearly written under the Articles of Colonization that it was to be an independent force connected to the Colonial Fleet.

During that time, he resisted beating the living shit out of Cain.

After the trial, she was grounded for a week, and during that week, he made her life a living hell by chasing her with a Raptor fit with enough bullets and missiles to make it look like a mini-Battlestar.

"Ah, good times. Good times."

Cagalli wanted to back away from the Major with that content look on his face, (which she had been told was a universally BAD sign) but she was kind of needed for this.

The reporters all looked at the man and realized who he was.

One of them tried running away, but the Marines in the conference room kept them from leaving.

The Major walked up to the podium that was brought into the room and tapped the microphone, then cleared his throat.

"Good evening..."

He opened his eyes as wide as they could go.

"INFEDELS!"

Everyone raised an eyebrow at that.

"Sorry. I try to break the ice with comedy. Clearly, no one likes my sense of humor. Welcome aboard the last known Battlestar in existence. I am Major Ronald Pinkerton, resident genius and lunatic."

Everyone suddenly had the urge to run away.

"And today, I am going to explain just what the hell has been going on over the past week or so."

He waved an arm over to Cagalli.

"This is Cagalli Yula Athha, head of the United Emirates of Orb, a country..."

He smirked.

"On Earth."

THAT got one hell of a reaction out of all of them.

"If I can finish?!"

Everyone calmed down.

"You heard me right: Earth. But it is not a united world. I believe our cousins erased their pasts to begin anew the moment they arrived, and that means they rid themselves of every ship and piece of technology they had 6000 years ago. I wouldn't know, and neither do the crew of the _Archangel_ or the _Minerva_. The main reason of this conference is to show you that they do not fight war as we do."

As if on cue, (and indeed it was) the _Archangel_ entered view.

"They use massive machines called Mobile Suits rather then fighters."

He keyed his wireless.

"_Archangel_, launch the Freedom."

"Copy, Major."

At that, the white and blue Freedom launched and flew toward the window. The look on the faces of the reporters could only be called 'pure hysteria'.

The Gundam hung in the black, waiting.

"That is the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, piloted by Kira Yamato."

The hatch opened, and Kira stepped out into view.

"The Freedom is only one of a handful of Mobile Suits operated by the _Archangel_ and _Minerva_. We are in the process of helping them repair and rebuild the rest, as they were damaged in a firefight on Earth. However, as they erased their Colonial past by destroying their ships, the _Archangel_ did not have an FTL drive until I built on on board her, nor does the _Minerva_ have one. The massive ship outside is another Mobile Suit: the GFAS-X1 Destroy. We strapped a Cylon FTL drive taken from one of the destroyed Baseships to it, and we are trying to dismantle said drive and place it inside the unit. One of their Mobile Suits has more offensive power then a wing of Vipers. The Freedom, if Kira so chooses, can easily destroy _Galactica_, and I REALLY don't want to think about the Destroy's capabilities."

Everyone openly shuddered at the thought of the Destroy and what it could do.

"Madam Athha, the floor is yours. I have a ship to refit."

He quickly left, as did Kira, as the Freedom closed its' hatch and joined the Vipers on CAP.

Cagalli sighed.

"I hate him."

She started explaining what happened to them.

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

The press conference was a success, but now they had another problem. Boomer found tylium, but there was a major snag: the Cylons already had an operation on the asteroid. "Well, frak." The Major, who had escaped the press, looked at the chart. "And there's nothing else?" "Unless you can rig up our engines to work like the ones on the _Archangel_ and _Minerva_-" "I'd need time to study the designs and find out how they work, not to mention a fraking mobile shipyard!" The engines on the two Earth ships did not rely on fuel, but power from the reactors. The Major wasn't sure how they worked, and without an _Artemis_-Class Mobile Shipyard, he would remain clueless.

Adama looked at the Major.

"How many operational Mobile Suits do we have?"

"Three: the ZGMF-X56S Impulse, the Freedom and the Strike Rouge."

He looked at the Commander.

"Why?"

The Commander looked at him.

Ron then realized what he was thinking.

"You're nuts."

The Major then gave him an insane smirk.

"I like it!"

Tigh and Gaeta did not have the insanity to realize what the two were thinking.

"Care to inform us?"

Adama looked at Tigh.

"We attack."

Tigh gaped. "He's right: that IS insane."

"With the Mobile Suits."

"That's crazier."

Battlestar Galactica: Planning Room

Some of the Mobile Suit pilots, (sans Ray, as he STILL wasn't giving a clear result on the Cylon Detector) both the _Archangel_ and _Minerva's_ COs, President Roslin and _Galactica's_ command staff plus the Major and Starbuck stood in the room, surrounding the plotting table.

"The plan is simple, albeit insane."

Cagalli rolled her eyes.

"With you, everything is insane."

"The Cylons have set up a mining operation-"

He pointed at a picture of the asteroid Boomer found.

"On this asteroid. We are going to take it from them."

Shinn looked at it.

"How?"

The local lunatic looked at him, then the two siblings.

Shinn quickly got the connection.

"Oh, HELL no. I am not working with them!"

Adama gave him the infamous Adama Glare.

Only a few men had survived it and one had been driven insane from it.

Shinn quickly backed down.

"Whatever problems you have with them are to be thrown out the airlock and shoved into a sun. You're working with them, Asuka."

"What about the Windams? We have twelve of them."

The Major pointed at what looked like flak guns and missile batteries.

"Those things have enough firepower to destroy one of your Windams. Only an MS equipped with Phase Shift Armor can get in there and survive. Of course, that's only part of the plan. A Viper team will get in there and destroy the batteries so the Windams and Raptors can move in and take over the facility. Remember, people, the Cylons will be shooting to kill. Shoot first."

He looked at Kira.

"You have a history of disabling targets rather then destroying them, Yamato. While that's admirable and all, only apply it to human targets. Cylons transfer to a new body as soon as they die. You can kill them with impunity."

Kira blinked.

"But that's just going to make it worse."

"Kid, I am a fraking genius. Hell, I helped build the first Cylon Centurions and I programmed most of the original Operating System. I can easily rewrite the Freedom's OS so I can pilot it. Don't make me do it."

Kira sighed.

"All right. I won't like it, but I'll do it."

The Major looked at Shinn.

"What the frak is your problem?"

Shinn exploded at the Major.

"He killed my family in Orb and because of everything that the _Archangel's_ done, people are dead!"

The Major looked at the two pilots.

Kira had a look of horror on his face while Shinn was righteously pissed.

"Did it EVER occur to you that maybe it was an accident?"

Shinn looked at him.

"What?"

He stood up straighter.

"I reviewed the battle from the _Archangel's_ records. He only ever fired at Mobile Suits and he kept his shots above the water. There were OTHER MSs around, you know: why not blame one of them? Stop wallowing in hatred and get a fraking grip on yourself!"

Tigh chuckled.

"You give pep talks like that in the CCE?"

"Up yours, Tigh."

Neo Roanoke pointed at the flak guns.

"Who is going to take those guns out?"

The Major smirked.

"I will. I stripped a Raider of its' FTL drive and fit it into the pod under my Viper. I'll jump in and destroy the guns."

Adama looked at the Major.

"That's why you wanted an intact Raider: the FTL drive."

The Major chuckled and smirked.

X-Day: Attack on the Tylium Asteroid

_Galactica_ jumped in with a small number of civilian ships.

The plan was to trick the Cylons into attacking _Galactica_ while they ignored the civies.

The civies carried a small team of Vipers under Apollo's command hidden inside one of the cargo containers. As soon as the Vipers were away, the _Archangel_ and the _Minerva_ would jump in and launch the Freedom, the Strike Rouge, the Chaos, the Murasames, the Windams and the Impulse.

Before they got into strike range, the Major would jump in and take out the AA guns with dumb-fire rockets (as he would be jamming them and they would be doing the same) before _Galactica_ launched its' Raptors to begin taking over the facility.

The plan was to take it intact.

And it was working swimmingly, as the Raiders followed the Vipers from Galactica back to the warship.

"_This is Psycho: jumping in_!"

The Mk I reappeared in a flash meters above the asteroid surface.

"Let's dance!"

The flak guns tried tracking him, but he was practically hugging the surface of the asteroid, and was thus too close for them to hit.

The Mk I flipped over, and the Major prepared to fire.

"_I have the targets in sight! FIRING_!"

He fired four rockets: all of them hit their targets, exploding and taking out every single AA gun in a chain reaction.

"_All forces, Psycho: AA batteries destroyed! Engaging facility Centurions_!"

At that moment, hell was unleashed: a Baseship jumped in.

"Frak me. All forces, Psycho: a fraking Baseship just jumped in!"

"_Psycho_, Galactica: Archangel _is targeting the Baseship! Press the attack on the facility_!"

The Impulse opened fire, destroying a large dome which undoubtedly contained any self-destruct system that would have destroyed the asteroid and denied them the fuel they needed.

The _Archangel_ and _Minerva_ fired on the Baseship, taking out its' weapons and jump drive, as well as opening it up to space, but not before it unleashed a horde of missiles, all of which were heading for the facility. "_Oh, shit! Don't let any of those hit! If even _one_ of them hits the unrefined tylium_-"

The Freedom, Impulse and Strike Rouge opened fire with their CIWS guns, destroying most of the missiles before they got within 500 meters of the asteroid.

One got through, but didn't hit anything important: only the shield of a Windam.

"_Fucking Christ, that thing packed one hell of a punch_!"

The Major, meanwhile, headed toward the badly damaged Baseship.

"Galactica, _Psycho: the Baseship's badly damaged, but I think we can salvage something from her_." "_Are you ins-Never mind. Don't answer that. Why the frak would we need to salvage from the Baseship_?!"

The Major found a fuel port on the underside of the ship.

Clearly, while the Cylons used their artificial gravity to maneuver their capital ships, (AN: They don't have thrusters. I have taken a look at the damn things all over in every episode where there have been closeups of Baseships and I have not seen one RCS unit on any Baseship. The Raiders are too small for that, and the Colonials just aren't advanced enough to use it on ships that size. Bigger ones, maybe) they still needed tylium for their powerplants and for the Raiders.

"_How about fuel? We can drain every drop from the Baseship, plus mining the raw stuff from the asteroids. We'd have enough fuel to reach Earth, maybe_."

Eventually, it seemed Adama agreed with the Major's practical thinking.

"Monarch _and_ Majahual _will land and set up mining operations. Raptor 587, jump and contact_ Daru Mozu _and_ Hitei Kan. _We have fuel for them to drain from that Baseship. Major, take a team of Raptors, land on that thing and make sure it's secure. I don't want the Cylons blowing it up while we're taking its' fuel_."

5 hours later

Lunamaria Hawke looked over her newest ride: the Colonial Viper Mk VII.

Able to turn 180 degrees in less then .24 seconds, armed with 3 KEW cannons and fitting four hardpoints for bombs or missiles.

She was thankful in that she could wear her ZAFT flight suit rather then needing to wear a Colonial one. Getting one would have been a royal bitch.

While she was a Mobile Suit pilot, she didn't have a Mobile Suit to fly, so she transferred to _Galactica_ in order to do something until it was fixed.

Its' regular pilot, someone from the Battlestar _Triton,_ which was destroyed near Ragnar Anchorage, but a large number of its' Vipers and Raptors survived and managed to get to _Galactica_, adding to her air group, (AN: This explains the Mk VIIs we see in the Miniseries during the Battle for Ragnar and it explains Crashdown perfectly) was currently in hack for doing something very stupid.

So she got to fly it.

She hopped into the cockpit and looked it over before closing the hatch.

"_Lunamaria, you ready_?"

She nodded before answering.

"Ready."

Oh, she was NOT.

She didn't even notice the safety straps before she was launched into the black.

By the time she found them, she was outside the ship, and was forced to pull up to avoid smacking into an asteroid.

During each turn she made, which got her further away from the Fleet, she managed to clip into the harness.

"_What the hell, Hawke_?"

"I didn't buckle in! Mobile Suits have different harnesses then-"

She looked outside and saw a ship of some sort.

"Uh, can you guys see this?"

The two fighters found Luna, then what she was looking at.

"_It's a ship. Frak me, it's Colonial_!"

At that moment, Major Pinkerton entered the conversation, as his Viper entered view.

"_Frak me. It's a _Serpent-_Class Heavy Tender_."

the ship had clearly seen better days: there were holes all over the hull, but she seemed intact.

The Mk I flew over the ship, the Major looking her over.

"Galactica, _I'm going to need help stripping this ship down-FRAKING HADES_!"

Luna found what he was seeing: a hole in the hull, and inside that hole?

Vipers.

Lots and _lots_ of Vipers.

"_Mk IIIs_. Galactica, we just hit the jackpot. _Luna, if I weren't 5 times your age, I would kiss you_!"

He extended the landing gear and set the Mk I down on the hull, then got out and entered the old Heavy Carrier through the hole.

"Major, what the hell is going on?"

"Galactica,_ Psycho: this thing is full of Vipers, Raptors and every kind of support craft I can think of! Screw stripping her! I need an engineering team over here, now_!"

Luna shook her head.

The Major was giddy.

And it was all her fault.

The Baseship was devoid of anything moving (the plasma knocked out every Centurion on the ship, and it gave the Major new toys to play with) and was being stripped to the bones, its' weapons and stores being transferred to _Galactica._

Those supplies could be put to good use repairing any damage _Galactica_ took.

"Major, what's so important about this ship?"

"_Heavy Tenders were armed repair/resupply ships and acted as tender/carriers at times. This ship can repair anything so long as she's got a crew_."

Adama's voice broke in.

"_Major, are you saying_-"

The Major cut the Old Man off.

"_If you give me a big enough team, I can reactivate the starboard flight pod! Hell, I can damn near refit _Galactica!"

Picture a Klingon Suicide shipyard in _Star Trek Armada_, make it look more like something humans could make, fit it to the hull of a _Valkyrie_-Class Battlestar just behind and below the flight pods and you've got a _Serpent_-Class Heavy Tender.

The one seen here is damaged from both combat and being in an asteroid field for God knows how long, but she can still fly.

How did she get there? Simple: the crew abandoned ship during the war and when the ship was hit with a nuke, it jumped. Older FTL drives have to be REALLY twitchy, and it was fully spooled up.

And the Mk III Viper does exist in visuals: _Blood and Chrome_ features it a lot.

We won't be seeing those Vipers in combat anytime soon: _Galactica_ simply doesn't have the pilots.

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: It's Colonial Day, and our Terran friends discover that voting is a bitch, especially with Tom Zarek.

Ja Ne!


	5. Chapter 4: Home of Man

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 4: Colonial Day Chaos/Home of Man

Athrun Zala pictured Commander William Adama as one of the greatest military commanders in history, and his XO, Colonel Saul Tigh, as a highly capable, albeit mostly drunk, officer. "HAHAHAHAHA!"

Then he compared them to Major Pinkerton, who was an insane genius... and more the former then the latter.

Over the past few days, the Major had been helping reactivate _Galactica's_ starboard flight pod with the _Serpent_-Class Heavy Tender _Agrippa._

Needless to say, the Lord of Insanity was crazier then ever and was happy as a schoolgirl who just got told her crush liked her too.

All of the aircraft on board the _Agrippa_ were perfectly fine, and as the ship was empty, overcrowded ships shoved as many people onto her as she could handle.

Now, though, was a day almost everyone was looking forward to, despite all the bullshit: Colonial Day.

It was the Colonial version of July 4th, and the Quorum of Twelve, the leaders of the Colonies under the Presidential Cabinet, were to be sworn in on the same day.

In order for the Terrans to enjoy themselves and have a seat on the Quorum, they were counted as the 13th Colony.

As leader of Orb and the highest ranking person in from both ships, Cagalli was given the place before any voting had gotten started.

Shinn took to it with cold, hard logic, lest he piss of the Major: she was the only person qualified for the job.

And Athrun was about to learn a well-known Colonial fact that no one had bothered telling him.

He walked into his guest quarters on _Galactica,_ and discovered a chrome plated toaster in the center of the room.

"What the hell?"

The Major got crazier around Colonial Day.

And it was beginning to show.

Of course, it was subtle.

His work got much better, he got electrocuted more often by some idiot's wiring mistakes and he somehow got Baltar to run from him wearing a chicken suit.

Don't ask where he got the chicken suit: it's one of the universe's little mysteries.

Refocusing on Zala the Younger, he stared at the toaster.

It, somehow, stared back.

'Is this what going insane feels like?'

He slowly backed out of his quarters and ran into Commander Adama.

"Is there a problem?"

Athrun pointed at the toaster.

"Oh. It's one of Major Pinkerton's jokes. He always does them on Colonial Day."

He picked up the toaster and carried it out of the room.

"Commander, I'm not sure, but I think the Major is driving to drive us insane."

Adama chuckled.

"Some days I think we're all insane and that the Major's just crazier then all of us combined. Don't worry. He's mostly harmless."

"ZAREK!"

Both turned their attention toward the end of the corridor.

"Uh-oh."

"What?"

"A little known fact: Tom Zarek blew up a government building, and most of the people killed were CCE. I was hoping the bastard would stay quiet and never reappear in public life once the Major was active again."

The fuming Major walked past them, radiating death.

"I was wrong."

He walked over to a phone and called CIC.

"This is the Commander. I want Major Pinkerton's Viper locked down: he doesn't go anywhere near it."

"_There a good reason for that, Commander_?"

"He just found out about Zarek."

"_Oh shit. Copy that, Commander_!"

He hung up.

"You do realize that won't stop him. He's a good Raptor pilot."

Adama then realized Athrun was right and called CIC once again.

_Cloud Nine_

Cagalli Yula Athha wore a simpler uniform rather then her regular one to the meeting.

Marines surrounded the whole chamber, and there was a good reason: Major Pinkerton was on the warpath, and he wanted Tom Zarek, Sagittaron's new Quorum representative, dead.

He was still on _Galactica,_ but it took every Marine on board to keep him from leaving the ship.

Cagalli couldn't blame him for wanting to kill the smug bastard: she wanted to as well, as did half the members of the Quorum.

Hell, KIRA of all people wanted the bastard shoved into the Major's not-so-welcoming arms.

And now he was about to well and truly earn the hate of everyone in the Fleet.

"I move to vote for the position of Vice-President of the Twelve Colonies."

She knew what was coming: he was going to try and take the job.

_Battlestar Galactica_: CIC

Saul Tigh feared few things.

The rage of Major Ronald Pinkerton was one of them.

The man's titanium skeleton was enhanced by electric motors inside the joints, and that gave him superhuman strength.

They had to lock him up in a heavy storage room near the magazines, as there was no way he was getting out of there.

"Colonel, the Marines just checked the secure room. Major Pinkerton is missing."

They clearly forgot that he knew _Galactica_ inside and out better then the men who built her.

"PLEASE tell me that the port flight pod is locked down."

Gaeta flinched.

"We have bigger problems then that, sir. As you know, he has a back up life-support system installed inside his chest, under the lungs."

Tigh nodded.

Graystone Industries had the idea to make sure that, just in case his lungs and heart were hit, a backup would kick in until he could reach a doctor.

It also worked in the vacuum...of...space...

"Oh, frak. The bastard doesn't need a spacesuit to get to _Cloud Nine_!"

He didn't need a ship!

He could literally jump from one ship to another!

"Post marines at every airlock! Don't let him off this ship!"

Meanwhile

While Major Pinkerton was planning homicide, Boomer and Crashdown were taking one of the _Agrippa's_ new (if a refurbished Cylon War-Era Raptor could be called new) and very shiny Raptors out.

"_Galactica,_ Raptor 614: requesting permission to scout next jump location."

"Granted."

It was at that moment, just before they jumped, that the Major flew past their canopy.

Without a spacesuit.

Both shrugged, knowing about the Major's 'special features', and they jumped.

Right in front of a planet.

"WHOA, BABY!"

Boomer managed to pull up and away from the mystery planet.

"Gaeta, you fraking idiot!"

"Hold on, Boomer. I'm picking up oxygen, plenty of water and enough CO2 for green leafy things." "What about orbital colonies? The PLANTs? Wireless signals?"

Crashdown shook his head sadly.

"It's not Earth."

Boomer looked over the surface.

"No, but it might be helpful. Start recording. Commander Adama might want to see this."

Crashdown chuckled.

"Don't you mean _Admiral_ Adama?"

_Cloud Nine_

Starbuck and Apollo watched on the CCTV cameras as the High Lord of Madness opened an airlock door and repressurized it.

"He's good."

"Yeah, well, he's cheating. Much as all of us want Zarek's head on a pike, we need to stop Major Pinkerton."

The Major collapsed before he could even get more then one or two steps inside _Cloud Nine_.

Starbuck smirked and laughed.

"He stopped himself. Guess it's because he hasn't used that life support thing in years."

"Either way, he's not getting up for a good long while, and I am taking advantage of it."

He got on the phone and ordered the Marines to get him off _Cloud Nine_ before he woke up.

"Good news is at least he won't be killing our new Vice-President."

Battlestar Galactica: CIC

Roslin had said it best: 'according to certain people, a man in command of two military ships is called an Admiral'.

The _Agrippa_ was never decommissioned, and she was a military ship.

So was _Galactica,_ so what choice did the lady have but to find a jeweler and have her make Adama a pair of Rear Admiral's rank pins?

She smiled quite honestly as she fixed them to his collar.

"Congratulations, Admiral Adama."

CIC erupted into cheer, and Tigh looked like he needed a stiff drink.

It was a good thing the Major was currently VERY doped up, or he would've showed up in a toga. Don't ask: it's a CCE thing.

"Admiral, Boomer and Crashdown just jumped back, and they say they've got something to show you."

Battlestar _Galactica_: brig

"How much booze did we pour into him?"

Mathias looked at Ishida.

"He's a _Pinkerton._ They have VERY strong livers."

The glasses-wearing Marine raised an eyebrow.

"Only the Avalonia family can match them in a drinking contest, but the Pinkerton always wins."

"Uggh..."

Both looked at the Major, who had just regained consciousness and was licking his lips in confusion.

"Tauron whiskey, 198 proof, 3% alcohol."

Both Marines looked at one another.

That bottle didn't even have a _label._

How the hell did _he_ know what it was?

The Major looked at the Marines.

"Care to let me out? Booze makes me less crazy, and you poured a whole _bottle_ down my throat."

Both Marines snorted, but that was another fact.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Adama's Quarters

Adama looked at the footage taken by Boomer's 'shiny' Raptor.

"Looks like the planet was inhabited, but abandoned."

Before Gaeta could answer, the Major ran in.

"Oh, _no."_

"Come on! Every time I enter a room, it's like the Colonies are falling all over again!"

He spotted the photos and took a look.

"What the hell? Those look like parts of that drawing in the Scriptures."

Everyone looked at the Major as if he grew a second head.

"What?"

"Major...What the frak are you talking about?"

The Major answered the newly-promoted Admiral's question by pointing out all the buildings.

"That's the Temple, that one's the Plaza and THAT one-"

He pointed at the huge circular one.

"Is the Opera House. I think Boomer needs a promotion: she just found Kobol."

That little revelation had one effect on everyone.

They fainted.

HT _Agrippa_

Galen Tyrol was NOT a ship commander. He was a knuckledragger.

Still, as the Major pointed out, the ship was built for knuckledraggers by knuckledraggers to fix other ships.

The _Agrippa_ and her three sisters were repaired _Valkyrie_-Class Battlestars, and after the war, they were strapped.

Well, the _Serpent_ was decommissioned and turned into a museum ship over Vergon.

Funny how that works.

Still, the old tender had just finished stripping out all of the museum pieces and reactivating the catapults and lifts, as well as removing those damned windows.

As someone once said just before the Fall, 'it's supposed to be a Battlestar, not a museum'.

Not one man or woman was sad to see those eyesores go.

Now she was a Battlestar once more.

Of course, she had a new purpose for the starboard pod: it could launch and recover Mobile Suits as well as Vipers.

Of course, WHAT Mobile Suits?

They were busy rebuilding the ones on the _Minerva_ and with the Windams, the _Minerva_ would have a full load.

Scuttlebutt was that the Major was planning on building a few eventually, but only after he had more parts and resources to actually build them.

The knuckledraggers finally disconnected the arm from _Galactica's_ starboard pod, and the _Agrippa_ moved off, rejoining the aft-most ships in the Fleet, giving them total AA coverage.

He got out of the control room and went to the port flight pod and gathered his people. It was time to go back to _Galactica_.

"Alright, people, let's get back to _Galactica._ We have Vipers to fix and all that."

Battlestar _Galactica:_ Adama's Quarters

William Adama was expecting to be on the deck after Major Pinkerton's rather stunning revelation.

'Didn't know the man read the scriptures.'

Instead, he and everyone else were sitting in chairs.

"Sorry about that, Admiral. It's a little known fact about my father: he was a priest, so I know a lot about the Scriptures."

The Admiral looked at the lower ranking officer, and discovered that he had a sketch pad.

"What the hell?"

The Major looked at Adama over the pad.

"Oh. I'm busy making something."

"Like what?"

He showed him what: it appeared to be an amalgam of the Murasume, the Strike Rouge and the Savior. At the top of the page was a type number and name: 'CDF-X01 DART'.

"A Mobile Suit?"

He nodded.

"I plan on building a few of them, but I'll need more then what we've got here to do it."

Adama didn't bother saying what the Major was implying.

They both knew what he was trying to get across.

"But that's later. Now, about Kobol..."

Adama looked at Gaeta and Tigh, who were waking up.

"A search team might get us some clues as to where the fraking hell Earth is, since it clearly exists."

Battlestar _Galactica:_ Port Flight Pod Hanger: 2 hours later

While the starboard pod was no longer dead weight, the port pod was still the home of every Viper and Raptor on board.

And Shinn Asuka was now one of _Galactica's_ many pilots, alongside Lunamaria.

It was Cagalli's idea: mix the crews up once in a while to keep morale from going down the toilet.

Again.

However, he would not be piloting a Viper.

Instead, he would be flying a Raptor for the recon mission to Kobol: he would be flying Raptor 01 with Crashdown, Chief Tyrol, Vice-President Baltar and three others.

He wore a Colonial flight suit (somehow, the Major found a few in their sizes) and took the pilot's seat in Raptor 01.

Crashdown looked at Shinn from the ECO seat.

"First time in a Raptor?"

Shinn chuckled.

"Flew a shuttle a few times. Nothing like this."

"Well, if you can fly a shuttle, you can fly this thing. Basically the same thing, only armed and fit with an FTL drive."

The hatches (both the airlock ones on _Galactica_ and the Raptor's) shut and the lift took the three raptors into the black.

All three took off, and they had an escort: Major Pinkerton's Mk I.

Shinn noticed that the ECM pod was missing, and something that looked like a bomb was under it. "_Raptor team, Viper 357: I'll be your top cover_."

Crashdown chuckled.

"How the frak can you be our cover? You can't jump."

"_Took an FTL drive from that Raider that crashed in the starboard flight pod two weeks back and stuck it in a pod. This fraker's jump-capable_."

Shinn shook his head.

"The man pisses me off sometimes, but you can't deny that he's a fucking genius."

He quickly found the FTL drive panel and activated it.

"FTL jump in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-"

All four craft jumped from the Fleet to the original home of mankind.

"_FRAK! RAPTOR 3, PULL DOWN!_"

Raptor Three's pilot didn't question the Major, but did as he said, and that saved the lives of everyone on that bird, as he narrowly avoided a Cylon Raider ramming into the Raptor.

Raptor One was not so lucky: bullets hit the Raptor's port engine, and she flamed out.

"Where the fuck did the Cylons come from?!"

"_TAKE A GUESS, GENIUS_!"

At that moment, Shinn saw the dominating form of a Cylon Baseship.

Shinn knew they were screwed in space, so he took the Raptor into the atmosphere. "Asuka, are you insane?!"

"We can't jump: they hit the engine!"

Five Raiders followed the Raptor into the atmosphere, and following them was Major Pinkerton's Viper.

"_Raptors Two and Three, jump the hell out of here_!"

Although under attack, both Raptors managed to jump and escape Kobol with their lives.

Now, though, 11 people were under threat.

"_Shinn, I want you to pull up and flare that fraking thing! The less air on the windscreen, the better: you took three hits and it'll shatter if any more pressure is put on it_!"

Shinn looked at the screen.

The Major was right: three 30mm holes were in the screen.

And to make matters worse, the Raiders were shooting at them.

"Major, those Raiders are shooting at us!"

The Mk I fired a long burst at two of the Raiders, taking out one engine each and making them stall.

This made them both collide with their brothers and destroyed four out of the five.

Number Five, meanwhile, had turned back and was firing at the Mk I.

He responded with 40mm cannon fire, brain-shotting the Raider.

It managed to get off a few shots to the Mk I's port engine before it died, though.

"Shit!"

The Major quickly shut off the fuel going to the port engine and quickly accessed the damage.

"_Port wing damaged, but the guns still work. Control surfaces are FUBAR, same with the engine. I can still fly. Shinn, try and land that bird as gently as you can_!"

Shinn pulled back on the stick and made the Raptor belly-flop on the surface of Kobol.

"_Well, that's not what I meant, but_..."

He ejected two containers attached to the 40mm gunpods and made sure they landed outside the Raptor.

"_Make sure you get those, people_."

They watched the Major pulled up, clearly intending to give them enough time to get out, get the containers and get the hell out of the open by engaging the Raiders.

"GET OUT! Get out of the Raptor!"

Shinn popped the hatch and everyone piled out.

The ZAFT MS pilot was the last one out, and using his enhanced vision, watched the Major duel with a squadron of Raiders.

'A broken Viper against a squadron of Raiders? This is insane, even for him.'

The Mk I took another hit, and this time the starboard engine was hit.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

Shinn glanced at Crashdown.

"I can see a lot further then you can. The Major's fighting to give us time to get everything we can from the Raptor and get the hell out of here. I'm not wasting it."

He managed to climb back into the Raptor and take out the medical kit.

"We're going to need this."

Crashdown looked up and saw an explosion.

"What the..."

Shinn looked back up. "He's still up there. Looks like he hosed a Raider with 40mm rounds."

He looked back at the Coordinator.

"How the hell can you see that?"

Shinn shrugged.

"Genetically engineered. I'm what's called a Coordinator."

Crashdown looked at him.

"So, what? Faster, stronger, better?"

Shinn scoffed.

"From what I've seen, the first two are mandatory. The last one? I have seen a LOT of stupid Coordinators, so..."

Crashdown got the point.

Up above

"Frak me, this thing handles like a pig with just one engine!"

It had seen its' last battle, and the Major knew it.

"No time to calculate a jump. And even if I did, would they let me?"

Several KEW rounds missed his head, but shattered the cockpit windscreen.

"I'll take that as a no."

He began spinning up the FTL drive and fired another burst at a Raider, this time with what was left of his 30mm ammo.

"I can't see shit! Screw it!"

He popped the canopy, allowing him crystal clear views of his surroundings.

Not that it was going to help him: his steering was screwed and he had a Raider gunning for his ass and another ready to ram him.

"Oh, frak. Had a good run, though."

He flipped a switch, activating the FTL drive once more.

The ruined Mk I jumped and the Raiders rammed each other.

The Mk I reappeared in space.

Where, he didn't know.

As long as it wasn't Kobol, why the hell should he care?

"Ok. Let's review our situation. Stuck in a spacesuit, limited air, and my ship is well and truly a wreck. Gods, why do you hate me?"

He looked at the Viper's DRADIS, which was pretty much the only thing still working and stared at the screen and gaped.

"Ok, maybe I was wrong and you guys DON'T hate me."

I just got new plates and bowls today. And they were octagonal. Fitting, no?

Brief hints of Colonial Day, and we see a good percentage of Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part One.

Now, what is the Major seeing? Will the landing party survive Kobol?

The latter I can answer: yes. Not all of it, but yes.

The former, not so much.

We'll feature the rest of Season One in the next chapter, and then the pain begins with Season Two.

After all, this is where one of my favorite _BSG_ ships appears: the _Mercury-_Class _Pegasus._

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: All this has happened before, and it's happening again.

Ja Ne!


	6. Chapter 5: The Shape of Things to Come

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 5: The Shape of Things to Come/Betrayal

As soon as both Raptors jumped back, Adama KNEW something was wrong.

His Chief Engineer, (which was basically the job Major Pinkerton was saddled with) his Deck Chief, one of the _Minerva's_ pilots and 9 other men and women were still near or on Kobol.

And while _Galactica_ could take on a Baseship with ease now, she was still the Fleet's chief guardian. While the civilians trusted the _Agrippa_ and to a lesser extent, the two Earth ships, they were more happy to see _Galactica_ hanging alongside.

So, no, _Galactica_ couldn't go, if only because of morale.

That gave rise to Plan B: Starbuck using the Raider to nuke the Baseship.

At the moment, Apollo was escorting the Raider on its' autopilot test flight.

However, everything was about to go to shit, as Adama was learning right now.

"_I believed in you. Believed in Earth_."

"What are you doing, Starbuck?"

"_Bringing home the cat, sir_."

Adama was confused for a moment, then realized what she was doing.

"We can talk about this."

"_No, I don't think so_."

Adama sighed.

"I want you to remember one thing: I do not regret anything that I did. Be sure that whatever you're gonna do, you don't regret it later, do you understand me?"

On the other end, Starbuck shook her head.

"_I guess we'll find out_."

From his chair, Gaeta looked at Adama.

"Admiral, she's spinning up the Raider's FTL drive."

Tigh looked slightly enraged.

"What? This is an autopilot test; what the hell is she doing?"

At that moment, the Raider disappeared from DRADIS.

It jumped.

"Galactica, _Apollo, she just jumped away. Repeat, Starbuck and the Raider just jumped away_."  
The confused and angry Tigh looked at Adama.

"She wasn't scheduled for a jump test. Where the hell did she go?"

Adama knew where.

"Home."

At the moment, Adama was righteously angry.

He and Roslin had an arrangement, after all: she was leader of the civilians and he led the military.

Now she just crossed the line.

Tigh, meanwhile, was clueless.

"Unbelievable. She's crossed the line before, but this is so far beyond the pale-"

Adama shook his head.

"She wouldn't have done this on her own: she was coerced."

Tigh looked at his best friend.

"No one coerces Starbuck. Believe me, I've tried.  
Dualla chose that moment to enter the conversation from her post.

"Admiral? I have the President on the line."

Adama looked at Tigh and picked up a phone.

"Bear witness. Put on your headset."

He put the bulky device to his ear.

"Madam President, moments ago, Lt. Thrace took the Cylon Raider on an unscheduled and unauthorized jump."

"_Yes_."

"Do you have any knowledge of this incident?"  
Roslin breathed out on the other end.

"_Let's save some time here, Commander. The question you really want to ask me is whether or not I asked Lt. Thrace to take the Raider to Caprica. And the answer to your question is 'yes_.'"

Adama's anger started bubbling.

"You and I talked about this."

"_Yes, we had_."

"We both decided it was a military decision."

Roslin wasn't laying down so easily.

"_My responsibility as President is, first and foremost, to protect and preserve this fleet and its future. In the end, that outweighs any other consideration. It has to_."

Adama's voice lowered an octave, and Tigh knew that his friend and CO was well and truly PISSED.

Not easy to do.

"By taking the Raider, you've placed our people on the surface of Kobol in direct danger."

Roslin clearly didn't get it.

"_I'm very aware of the danger our men and women are in on Kobol. I am also deeply aware of the danger this civilization will be in if I ignore the pursuit of this arrow_."

Adama had had enough of the schoolteacher screwing with his command.

"I'm going to have to ask you for your resignation, Madam President."

"_No_."

Adama had exhausted his diplomatic options.

Now he had to do it the hard way.

"Then I'm terminating your presidency as of this moment."

Roslin seemed to be either brave or stupid.

Probably the latter more then the former.

"_Commander Adama, I will exercise the authority of this office until I am unable to do so, so if you want to stage a coup you're gonna have to come over here and arrest me_."

"I don't want any bloodshed."

Roslin had one more card up her sleeve.

"_Of course you don't, neither do I. Neither does the press. They're here, by the way. They're recording every minute_."

Adama hung up, ending the conversation, then walked back into CIC. "Order the CAP to isolate _Colonial One_."

Adama turned to Gaeta.

"Mr. Gaeta."

Gaeta walked up to the commanders of the Battlestar.

"Sir."

"Jam any transmissions in or out of _Colonial One_ immediately."

Gaeta nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Adama turned to Tigh.

"Prepare a strike team. As long as she's President, she's dangerous, and if she can turn Starbuck against us, she's capable of anything."

Tigh nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Adama cleared his glasses.

"She's bluffing."

"Let's hope so. There's also a Cylon Baseship out there to deal with."

"Leave that one to me."

BB-01 _Minerva_

Talia hung up the phone and rubbed her temples to try warding off the coming headache.

"Shinn is still on Kobol with the rest of his team, Major Pinkerton is missing, Admiral Adama and President Roslin are having a pissing match and we're caught in the middle!"

Arthur wisely stayed quiet on the matter.

"Captain, I have Admiral Adama on the secure channel. He's requesting to speak with you."

Talia looked at Meyrin, then sighed.

"Put him through."

She picked up the phone once more.

"Admiral, what can I do for you?"

Adama's voice filtered through the handset.

"_I have Captain Ramius on the line and I wanted to speak with both of you. Dee, patch her in_."

A click was heard, and all three military captains were on.

"_Admiral. Captain Gladys_."

"Captain Ramius. What's the occasion, Admiral?"

"_I'll get straight to the point. President Roslin is out of control and has made one of my pilots take a military asset back to the Colonies_."

Talia knew where he was going.

"You want to know if we'll support Roslin or not."

"_Captain Ramius is the one I am worried about, Captain Gladys. She has a history of defection from her armed forces_."

Talia pictured Ramius to be insulted, and her voice sounded just so.

"_Admiral, I take offense to that_."

Adama placated the offended Captain.

"_Captain Ramius, I am sorry for offending you. I simply do not want to get into a fight with the _Archangel._ If you do not support us, I will ask you to stay out of the whole affair instead of firing on yo_u."

"_The fact we can easily destroy _Galactica_ has nothing to do with it_."

Adama seemed to smirk on the other end.

"_Mutual destruction, Captain: you wouldn't take too many hits from our main batteries before you were destroyed_."

Ramius threw in the towel.

"_While I cannot support your actions, President Roslin is more of an issue. The next time, she could try and throw _us_ into the fire. I will give you limited support, but nothing more_."

Adama seemed happy with that.

"_Very well, Captain Ramius. Captain Gladys, I'm sending your MS pilot back to you. While she's a good Viper pilot, Lunamaria is more valuable in a Mobile Suit cockpit_."

"Her ZAKU isn't even fixed yet."

"_Put her in the Impulse. We can't afford to be understrength_."

Talia sighed.

"Understood. _Minerva_ out."

She hung up, then pinched her nose.

"Frak it."

Everyone looked at their captain.

"I am going to _Galactica_ and ask the knuckledraggers for some bathtub booze. Any of you wish to join me, do so. I need to get massively drunk before this degenerates any further and I am forced to contemplate suicide just to escape this."

She left, leaving the stunned bridge crew behind.

Meanwhile, back on Kobol

Shinn helped drag Socinus, who was burned in the crash, up the hill into the treeline.

"Alright, what the frak did the Major drop for us?"

Tyrol opened one of the containers and found some basic medical supplies: anti-radiation medication, mostly, but there was enough painkillers to down a bull elephant in it as well.

"Medical supplies in one."

Shinn opened the other.

This one was more offensive: it was an ammo container carrying magazines for each of the weapons they had.

Most importantly, it had explosive rounds: bullets designed to kill armored Centurions.

And they were under no illusions that there weren't Cylons on Kobol, as they were just shot down by a frakton of Raiders.

And other then the guns, they had almost zero defense, as Major Pinkerton was either dead or had jumped back to _Galactica_.

"Damn it. No working radio or anything. Course, that's a blessing in disguise now that I think about it."

Cally looked at Shinn.

"Why is that a good thing?"

"Well, every time we try to contact a friendly ship, the Cylons could track us down. It's happened on Earth more then once. A lot more."

Back with the Fleet

Boomer and Racetrack were spinning up their FTL drive, ready to head to Kobol.

At that moment, they were contacted by _Galactica_.

"_Boomer_, Galactica _Actual_. _Just wanted to say good luck, good hunting and I have complete faith in the both of you_."

Boomer would have smiled, but she still had a gunshot wound (self-inflected, I might add, as she tried to commit suicide) and it would have hurt like a bitch to do so.

"Thank you, Actual. We won't let you down. Racetrack, start the jump clock."

Racetrack exhaled a breath.

"Clock is running. 3, 2, 1, jump!"

The Raptor jumped to Kobol, and it neared the Cylon Baseship, which scared the SHIT out of both women.

Racetrack looked at the Cylon transponder that they accquired from Leoben a few weeks earlier.

"You think this thing is working?"

Boomer resisted chuckling.

"We're about to find out."

A pair of Raiders flew by and didn't fire.

"I guess it does."

They got REALLY close to the Baseship.

Close enough to make 'Husker' himself (Adama's old callsign, for the uninformed) shit his pants. "Launch the nuke and prepare to jump."

A loud thump was heard, and Racetrack was swearing up a storm in the ECO's seat.

"What?"

Racetrack kicked the console.

"The bomb release is jammed, I can't free it."

'Ok, Boom, think before this all goes to hell.'

She sighed.

"We can dock inside the ship."

Racetrack was two things: scared shitless and scared stupid.

"Excuse me?"

Boomer's calm voice did not sooth her worried co-pilot.

"They think we're Cylons: they'll let us dock. We can release the bomb manually and drop the nuke inside the ship itself. It'll work."

They flew into the Baseship.

"Oh, my gods."

Racetrack's comment was an understatement: the whole hanger was organic and fleshy.

They knew that the Cylons used organic technology (AN: Think they struck a deal with the Shadows? *Chuckles*) but THIS was INSANE: SO insane Starbuck and Major Pinkerton _**combined**_ couldn't think of it.

Ok, _maybe_ the Major could by himself, but only on a REALLY bad day.

Boomer kept an eye on the 'ground'.

"I'm setting her down."

The Raptor touched the 'deck' without a hitch.

"Open the hatch. I'll release the bomb. Keep the engines warm and ready for takeoff the second I get back."

Racetrack couldn't see a point in arguing with that.

"Yes, sir."

Boomer got out of the Raptor.

"Close the hatch after me. If I'm not back in five minutes, just go."

Racetrack nodded nervously.

"You got it."

The hatch shut, and she quickly took a look around.

It reminded her of the Raider Starbuck captured, but it was BIGGER.

Boomer shook her head and walked back to the Raptor to detach the nuclear weapon from it.

She hit the damned thing a few times, and then watched it drop very loudly on the ground.

She half-expected it to explode right then and there.

"Sharon..."

The 'What the frak' factor began raising.

That was HER voice, and she did not speak.

Perplexed and VERY confused, she decided to investigate.

THAT was when she found...herself.

Actually, Maybe hers_elves_ was much more fitting, as there was more then one copy.

And cue Boomer freaking the hell out.

"This is _**NOT**_ happening."

Caprica: Delphi Museum of the Colonies

Starbuck was NOT having a good day.

First, her faith in the Old Man was shattered, (while Earth existed, he didn't have a clue where it was) and she was forced to steal the Raider she stole from the Cylons.

Funny how things work out.

Second, she had the shit beaten out of her by a copy of Shelly Godfrey, who was actually a Cylon.

Oh, she managed to kill the bitch, but only after Karl Agathon, callsign Helo, gave her the distraction she needed to take the bitch down.

The third one, though, was the WORST.

Boomer was a fraking Cylon.

So, yeah, Kara Thrace was not having a good day. At all.

The only good thing was that she had the Arrow of Apollo. Oh, wait, Caprica Boomer just stole her Raider.

No bonus for the Arrow after all. "Bitch took my ride."

Helo could only grimace in agreement.

Kobol Orbit: Cylon Baseship

Boomer was within a hair's breadth of running away _screaming._

Her counterparts (who also happened to be _naked_) took off her helmet.

"You're confused and scared... but it's okay."

Boomer was freaking out more then before.

Considering that she was already at her freaking out limit, that's saying something.

"I'm not a Cylon. I'm Sharon Valerii, I was born on Troy. My parents were Katherine and Abraham Valerii."

"You can't fight destiny, Sharon."

"It catches up with you..."

"...no matter what you do."

"Don't worry about us..."

"...we'll see you again.

"We love you, Sharon..."

"...and we always will."

Boomer then ran away.

Screaming, I might add.

From inside the Raptor, Racetrack saw her pilot running toward the hatch.

"Boomer!"

She opened the hatch.

"Come on, let's go!"

"What the hell took you so-"

Boomer got in the Raptor, still freaking out.

"Go, go, go...!"

Racetrack looked more closely, her relief now overtaken by morbid curiosity.

"Where's your helmet?"

Boomer ignored her question.

"Close the hatch. Don't turn around!"

Racetrack did as she was told.

In the fine tradition of the United States Colonial Marines, (whoops, wrong series) the Raptor turned and got the hell off the Baseship.

They jumped just after the nuke exploded, confirming that the Baseship was, indeed, destroyed.

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC, 15 minutes later

Adama, Talia and Murrue walked into CIC seconds before Boomer and Racetrack did.

It was not a good day.

Roslin was in the brig, Lee had threatened Tigh's life during the operation to capture Roslin and was relieved of duty, and they were down a Viper pilot: Major Pinkerton was not in orbit of Kobol, nor did he return to the Fleet.

He either jumped out or was shot down.

Adama stared at a shackled Apollo in shame, then he approached Boomer and Racetrack, who were at parade rest.

"Congratulations to both of you. You carried out a very difficult and dangerous mission."

The next part was clearly directed at Apollo.

"And you did it despite any personal misgivings you may or may not have had. And for that I'm very proud. Thank you."

He shook Racetrack's hand.

"Thank you, sir."

Then Adama shook Boomer's hand. 

"Thank you, sir."

Adama never got a chance to respond, as all hell broke loose. Boomer pulled out her sidearm (the Colonial version of the H&K VP-70, for the gun savvy) and put a 9mm round into Adama's chest.

Everyone stared in shock: no one had seen this coming.

Even the Marines were slow to react.

This gave Boomer time to fire one more shot, this time very, _very_ near his heart.

He fell backwards, his blood beginning to pour out and cover the plotting table.

NOW the Marines restrained the Cylon agent.

Everyone, even the Terran captains, tried to save the Admiral's life by trying to stop the blood from pouring out of his body.

"Someone get a doctor! Get Doc Cottle!"

I wanted to try my hand at writing the scene where Boomer shoots Adama, but add Gladys and Ramius so they would be featured more in the next chapter on _Galactica_.

And to date, this is the only chapter where Major Pinkerton is only mentioned and not seen. We won't be seeing him much over the next little while.

To recap recent events:

_Archangel_ and _Minerva_ have joined the Fleet

_Galactica_ has been slightly refit

The Heavy Tender _Agrippa_ has been found and has recently just reactivated the starboard pod

Shinn is on Kobol

Roslin has been arrested

Boomer just shot Adama

Starbuck is on Caprica

Major Pinkerton is missing/assumed dead

Some of this text is taken from the episodes Kobol's Last Gleaming Part 2 and Shattered. (I always thought some of the shit that happened on Caprica during Season 2 Episode 1 happened just as the Old Man was shot, and I wanted to show that)

Oh another note, I just watched _Blood and Chrome_ and saw _Galactica_ during the First Cylon War.

If a ship can look good, _Galactica_ looked fucking SEXY back then! I'm eventually restoring the Old Gal back to that standard once they get to Earth!

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: _Galactica_ is separated from the rest of the Fleet, everyone struggles to keep Adama from kicking the Bucket, and everything can only get worse.

Ja Ne!


	7. Chapter 6: Shattered Faith

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 6: Shattered Faith

There are times that people must rise to the challenge.

This was one of them.

Unfortunately for the crew of the Battlestar _Galactica_, the man that had to rise was Colonel Saul Tigh.

And he wasn't so good at that.

A medical team arrived less then a minute after Adama had been shot, and Lee Adama wanted to know something extremely important.

"Where are the medics?! Where's Doc Cottle?!"

Layne Ishay, one of the many medics on the Battlestar, looked at the Captain.

"Off ship, on rounds in the fleet, sir. Stand clear!"

The medics did their job, only interrupted by the bitch who put two bullets into Adama's chest in the first place.

"What's going on?! What happened?!"

Tigh, who was very rightfully pissed off, looked at Sergeant Fischer.

"Sergeant of the Guard, secure that thing in the brig!"

Fischer nodded.

"Aye, sir. Hollis, Wenzler, let's go. Let's go!"

The Marines tried to secure Boomer and take her away, but she kept resisting.

"Ah! No! Wait!"

Ishay and the medics finished their job, making sure Adama wouldn't die on the way to sickbay.

"Okay, he's breathing! Let's get him down to sickbay, RFN."

At that moment, Captain Arron Kelly entered CIC.

"What the hell?"

Gaeta looked at him

"Valerii shot the Old Man."

"What?!"

"She must be a Cylon. Colonel's in command; you're second."

Ishay and her team got Adama on a gurney.

"Make a hole!"

Boomer was still in CIC, and the Marines were having a hard time with her.

Talia, having had enough with Boomer, plus the fact that she shot a man who had earned her respect, pulled out her sidearm and shot her in the leg.

Boomer cried out in pain, but her screams became more mute as she was dragged out to of CIC.

Talia holstered her weapon as Adama was moved from CIC.

Tigh looked at one of the Marines.

"Secure Captain Adama! Put him in the brig."

Apollo resisted, but he wasn't a danger, so no one shot him.

"Colonel! Colonel Tigh! He's my father! Colonel!"

"Colonel."

He faced Kelly.

"Could this be a prelude to a Cylon attack?"

"How would they know where we are?"

Racetrack, still in CIC, gave them the answer.

"Valerii could've told them, sir." Tigh looked at her.

"What?! How?!"

"When we aboard the Basestar, she left the raptor for a few minutes and came back without her helmet. She might've told the Cylons everything: our position, defenses-"

"Colonel, the toasters have knocked out our CO. This has gotta be part of a bigger plan. I recommend we execute jump to urgency standby coordinates."

Dualla looked up from her post.

"Colonel, I've located Doc Cottle. He's aboard the Rising Star."

'Is there any way this could get worse?'

As soon as he completed that thought, Murphy made it so.

"DRADIS! Picking up Cylon Baseship bearing 487 carom 015!"

"Sir, we can't stay here. Sir!"

Tigh couldn't regain focus.

Murrue shook her head at took command.

"Dee, alert the fleet. We are making an immediate jump to the emergency coordinates."

Dualla looked at the new acting CO.

"Ma'am, Doc Cottle is still 15 minutes away."

Murrue shook her head.

"He'll have to rejoin us on the other side of the jump, then."

Gaeta looked at the plotting table.

"Sir, what about our people on the surface of Kobol?"

Tigh finally rejoined them.

"If they're still alive, they'll have to wait."

Battlestar _Galactica_: Port Flight Pod

Lunamaria was almost ready to take off and head back to the _Minerva,_ but her pilot wasn't going anywhere.

"What's going on?"

"The Fleet's jumping. Besides-"

He pointed forward, showing Luna something she didn't know: Galactica's flight pods could retract.

"That's new."

"Stand by: _Galactica's_ jumping!"

The ship compressed slightly, then jumped.

Luna blinked, trying to shake off the dizziness she seemed to get every time a ship jumped.

The pods opened, and she voiced her main concern.

"Where's the Fleet?"

She hopped into the ECO seat and checked the DRADIS.

"Oh, God. We're alone."

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

Seeing as Murrue was the highest ranking officer on _Galactica_ that was capable of running the ship, other then Talia and Tigh, she was temporarily put in command.

"Captain?"

She turned to face Gaeta.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"We have a problem."

Murrue chuckled bitterly.

"Of course we do. Admiral Adama's been shot, Colonel Tigh is in shock and we just lost the Fleet. What else can go wrong?"

Gaeta gave her the answer.

"It's the Tristan batteries. Major Pinkerton took them offline for maintenance, and we have no idea how to reactivate them."

Murrue looked at the OOD.

"Are you telling me that half of this ship's offensive armament is down?"

"We still have the CIWS cannons-"

Murrue shifted her stance.

"Lieutenant, from what little I know of FTL jump plotting, we have to be in the same position for some time in order to find out where the Fleet jumped to. Please correct me if I'm wrong."

Gaeta shook his head.

"There is a Cylon Baseship waiting for us back where we need to go. I cannot order us to jump unless I am sure we can defend ourselves. Without those beam cannons, we cannot disable that Baseship."

She pointed at the Damage Control Panel.

"Even if we make sure they can't nuke us to death, they still have missiles that will get through our flak screen and knock out our batteries, and that's not including the 300 or so Raiders that we will have to deal with."

Gaeta got the message.

"I'll read through the Major's notes and try to get the Tristans back online. Of course, he writes his notes in cyphers-"

"Go."

Gaeta ran off before he could test Murrue's patence.

She turned to face Captain Kelly.

"How long would it take to calculate the Fleet's position?"

Kelly sighed.

"12 hours or more."

Murrue looked at Kelly with a stare that made two nations back down from a war of mutual destruction. (AN: End of _SEED_)

"I heard that you once calculated FTL jumps every 33 minutes. Why would it take so long now?"

Kelly shrugged.

"Don't ask me. Gaeta's the expert, same with Major Pinkerton."

Murrue huffed out a breath.

"And I need Gaeta to fix the Tristans."

At that moment, Tigh returned to CIC.

He wore a clean uniform and was ready to retake command of the last actual Battlestar.

"Where's Gaeta?"

Murrue looked at Tigh.

"Trying to fix the Tristans. We need those guns if we're going to engage that Baseship."

Tigh, although amused internally, was also confused.

"Why so bloody-minded? That's usually our job."

"There's a WAR going on back home, Colonel. And we need to end it before all hell breaks loose again and someone just up and uses a WMD to kill everyone!"

Tigh blinked.

THAT was new.

Murrue sighed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't've blown up like that."

Tigh nodded.

"No need to apologize. It's that bad?"

"Two years ago, Patrick Zala tried using a nuclear reaction-activated laser to kill every living thing on Earth. Anyone could easily make another GENESIS."

That clenched it: they REALLY needed to get to Earth now.

Still, they had to find the Fleet first.

"Any ideas?"

Murrue sighed.

"Nukes are out of the question simply because once we deactivate the N-Jammer, we can be nuked in turn. We can't win a straight-on gun fight without the Tristans. Missiles would be shot down."

Tigh groaned in annoyance.

"I'm starting to wish that Major Pinkerton didn't install that FTL drive on the Minerva. We could've used a few Mobile Suits to cover our asses."

Meanwhile...

Lacus Cline was not a woman prone to cursing, but the situation involving what had been coined the Second Bloody Valentine War was driving her toward unleashing her store of harsh language.

Durandal and Djbril had turned the entire Earth Sphere into a battlefield for their petty grudge match.

Thankfully, they denied them a few weapons needed for said grudge match: DeCosta and several others had stolen a number of prototype Mobile Suits relating to the Destiny Weapons Program: the ZGMF-X42S Destiny, (namesake of the program) the ZGMF-X666S Legend, (an upgraded version of the ZGMF-X13A Providence) the ZGMF-X23S Savior, (the second prototype of the MS that Kira destroyed over Crete), the ZGMF-2000 GOUF Ignited, (a more advanced ZAKU sub-type) the ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper,(an extremely advanced mass-production MS, but too expensive for ZAFT's tastes) The GAT-X105E+AQME-X09S Strike Noir, the GAT-X103AP Verde Buster, the GAT-X1022 Blu Duel and the GAT-X303AA Rosso Aegis (three VERY advanced versions of the older GAT-XX0X series MSs) and the ZGMF-X56S/G Destiny Impulse (considered the ancestor of the Destiny itself), and they recovered Cagalli's replacement MS, the ORB-01 Akatsuki.

They also had the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice and X20A Strike Freedom on board the Eternal, as well as a team of Murasumes.

But now all of them were useless, as the _Archangel_ was assumed destroyed.

That was about to be shattered.

"Hey, Miss Cline? I'm picking something up on the heat sensors."

"Let me see."

Lacus floated over to the console and saw what looked like a giant Y with a smaller, inverted one attached to it.

"It's not like anything I've ever seen before: it's not ZAFT or EA."

Smaller contacts appeared.

"Oh, shit! BRACE-"

The asteroid rocked from the sudden missile barrage launched from the unknown ship.

"Prepare for launch!"

DeCosta arrived on the bridge as another missile hit, and this time, it was nuclear.

And thanks to the N-Jammer Cancelers on board the Eternal, it exploded.

"Are you crazy?! Those guys are launching NUKES!"

"We must give the factory workers time to escape! Launch the _Eternal_, and fire back!"

DeCosta got into the vice-captain's seat.

"You heard the lady! We're going out on a suicide run!"

One of the fragments flew off, and out came the Eternal's only beam cannon.

It fired one shot, damaging the larger ship.

More fragments fell off, and out came the red FFMH-Y101 _Eternal_.

Her 14 CIWS cannons began opening fire, cutting down the missiles heading toward the asteroid.

"Get down to the hanger and shut off those NJCs! We can't use the METEORs' beam cannons without risking a nuclear explosion!"

Maya Ibuki, the new weapons system operator, looked at Lacus.

"Ma'am, that thing's launching fighters!"

Lacus and DeCosta (and just about everyone else) was confused as all hell.

"Fighters? But those are almost useless against Mobile Suits."

"Useless or not, here they come!"

Dozens, if not hundreds, flying-wing fighters and bulkier craft came at them, firing missiles and firing blue tracers.

"Hanger to bridge: NJCs are deactivated!"

Lacus nodded grimly.

"Activate N-Jammer and return fire!"

The starboard METEOR opened fire with its' mobile beam cannons.

It, along with the main beam cannon and the CIWS, cut down scores of flying-wings.

DeCosta leaned forward in his seat.

"Helm, come about! All guns and missile launchers to bear on the target!"

At that moment, Andrew Waltfeld entered the bridge.

"What the hell's going on?!"

Lacus looked at her old friend.

"We're clearly under attack."

Three of the bulkier craft rammed into the _Eternal_, punching through the hull.

"The big ones are kamikazes!"

"SHOOT THEM DOWN!"

The Eternal opened fire with a missile barrage, forcing the fighters to back off, but what they didn't know was that those bulky craft were Cylon War-Era Heavy Raiders.

They had been boarded, but at the moment, no one knew that the Guardians had come on board.

Of course, now those Heavy Raiders were the Eternal's new FTL drive.

"FIRE!"

Instead of firing, the Guardian Centurions activated the Raiders' FTLs, jumping the Eternal to a random location, giving the old Guardian Baseship access to Terminal.

But they lost interest in the humans, deciding instead to jump away to parts unknown.

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

"So we jump back to the last coordinates. But we network the FTL computer with the Nav, DC, and Fire Control computers. Once they're linked, we'll only need ten minutes to complete the calculations."

Kelly looked incensed, and rightly so.

"You can't be serious."

He looked at Tigh and Talia, who relieved Murrue as she was under a LOT of stress.

"The Old Man would never do this, Colonel. No computer networks on his ship."

Gaeta nodded.

"I acknowledge that, sir. But I can devise a software firewall that will buy us more time."

"Really, you're gonna outthink the Cylons at computer software? The only man who can do that is missing or dead!"

Gaeta looked at Tigh.

"Sir, if we don't do this, we're never gonna find the fleet. Certainly not before the Admiral dies."

Kelly leaned over the plotting table.

"This is still the old man's command. We can't do something he'd oppose, especially when it puts the entire ship at risk."

Talia sighed.

"Can you make sure the Cylons can't break in?"

"The only one who can do that is Major Pinkerton. I can buy us ten minutes, maybe a little more so we can jump."

Tigh pulled out the phone and put it on shipwide.

"This is the XO. Begin jump prep. Those are... my orders."

Kelly hung his head.

They were going to network the computers.

"Captain Gladys, CIC is yours."

Back with the _Eternal_

The Eternal reappeared somewhere in deep space.

"What happened?"

Waltfeld looked at the heat sensors, which were scrambled.

"Can't see anything in this mess!"

He kicked the console, and another contact appeared: this one was a then-unknown modern Cylon Baseship.

"Uh-oh. Same pattern as the last one, but it's a LOT bigger!"

The Baseship launched all of her Raiders, sending them toward the Eternal. (AN: Gundam 00's Scramble works perfectly here, so play it as you read)

"Reading over 200 fighters, maybe more!"

Lacus paled. Andy, on the other hand, snarled.

"Fire all weapons! Keep those fighters away from the _Eternal_, and open the catapult hatch!"

The heat sensor picked up another large target: roughly the same size.

"Oh, shit: they've got two of them!"

"Hold it! The fighters are turning around!"

They looked out the window and saw the newer horseshoes turn back, and got their first look at a Colonial Battlestar: _Galactica_.

It was firing at the Baseship and launching her own fighters.

Battlestar Galactica: CIC

"Jump completed.

Tigh looked over his shoulder at Gaeta.

"Report."

Gaeta gave them the bad news.

"Multiple DRADIS contacts. Cylon Baseship and multiple Cylon Raiders bearing 487, carom 221!"

Talia cursed.

Gaeta wasn't able to get the Tristans back online, so now they had to do it the hard way.

"Wait, picking up another contact, bearing 509, carom 264!"

Talia pounded the plotting table.

"A support ship. We can't fight two at the same-"

Tigh interrupted her.

"It's not a Cylon, Captain."

Talia looked at Tigh.

"Those smaller contacts are Raiders."

She looked up and noted that the Raiders were heading toward the craft, not away.

"Colonial?"

Then a model number and name appeared: FFMH-Y101 _Eternal_.

"The _Eternal_? I thought she was destroyed."

Tigh looked at Talia.

"One of yours?"

Murrue then walked into CIC.

"No. One of hers."

"Frak. Lieutenant!"

"Computations underway. We'll be able to plot the fleet's position in seven minutes."

Tigh looked at Dualla.

"Dee, try to contact the Eternal. We need to coordinate our fire against that Baseship."

Dualla nodded.

"Copy that, Colonel."

Battlestar _Galactica_ airspace

Luna flew in formation alongside all of _Galactica's_ Vipers.

"_Whoo-hoo! Ha ha ha! Let's get these suckers_!"

"_Hey Flyboy, you know we got a pool going, right? See who gets the most kills now that Starbuck's AWOL_."

Flyboy chuckled.

"_Well, we know I'm gonna clean up_."

Apollo and Luna both spoke over the wireless.

"_Flyboy, shut up and focus. This is not a simulation_."

Flyboy, properly cowed by both the newb and the CAG, wisely shut up.

"_Roger that_."

"Galactica to all Vipers: second contact is friendly; repeat, second contact is Earth vessel Eternal _and is friendly_."

Luna blinked.

"The _Eternal_?"

She quickly shook her head.

No, now was NOT the time to think about that. Apollo gave the order.

"_Weapons free. Open ranks and engage_!"

The Vipers opened fire on the Raiders, beginning the battle.

Battlestar Galactica: CIC

Gaeta watched the firewalls he built very closely.

Then the warning came: 'Cylon virus detected'.

"Here they come. Cylons are hacking our network. Attempting to access our gateway."

Tigh took in an unsteady breath.

"Now it's a race."

Now he was regretting losing the Major.

An alarm blared, and Gaeta saw fit to tell everyone what they already knew.

"First firewall penetrated!"

"Dee, status?"

Dualla looked at Tigh.

"I'm in contact with the _Eternal_."

"Patch me through."

She nodded and Tigh picked up the phone.

"_Eternal_, this is the Battlestar _Galactica_. Do you read?"

"Eternal h_ere! What the hell is going on_?!"

"Listen closely, Captain. We need to coordinate our fire, or that Baseship will tear us both to pieces. Launch your Mobile Suits and support our Vipers!"

"..._Copy that,_ Galactica. _Launching MSs_."

Talia and Murrue knew why the Eternal was cooperating: they needed _Galactica_ to save their asses.

Outside

Luna had downed her fifth Raider of the day, and out came another, larger contact. "_Sierra Alpha, we got a new boge_y."

"_What the hell is that thing_?!"

"It's a Cylon Heavy Raider and it's bearing on _Galactica_! We gotta take it out!"

"_Apollo, Hotdog offensive. Three right, five at two_."

"_Tally, Hotdog. Kat, Luna, on me_."

"_Roger that. I'm with you, leader_."

Kat, Apollo and Luna Ivaned, the G-forces pressing them into their seats as they went after the Heavy.

Luna got off a few shots earlier then her more experienced wingmen due to her enhanced abilities, but the Raider spun around, exposing them to its' battery of six-that's right, SIX-30mm cannons.

"_Oh_, shit."

It had as much firepower as they did!

It opened fire, blue tracers barely missing the Vipers.

It fired another burst, scoring superficial hits on Apollo's Viper.

"_Apollo, we're approaching_ Galactica's _flak barrier. Cylon target within gun range_."

Luna opened fire with all three of her 30mms, hitting the sides of the Heavy.

Apollo had better luck, and he hit the port engine block.

"_Winged_ _it_!"

"_Apollo, we're straying into _Galactica's _engagement_ _zone_!"

"_I'm_ _almost_ _there_, _I'm_ _almost_ _there_. _I'm_ _almost_ _there_! _Come_ _on_!"

Luna Ivaned and reentered the furball while Kat and Apollo continued trying to kill the Heavy Raider

"_Break_, _break_, break_!"_

Apollo pulled a very dramatic Ivan, and seconds later, the Picus turrets hosed the Heavy Raider with 76mm rounds, forcing it to veer toward the starboard flight pod.

It crashed, flipping over seven times.

At that moment, the Eternal began moving toward Galactica on a docking vector.

"Eternal, _don't_ _bother_! _The_ _flight_ _pods_ _are_ _too_ _narrow_!"

But Luna was wrong in her assumption.

Instead of heading for the pods, it LANDED on top of _Galactica_.

"_Is that gonna work_?!"

"_Hell if we know! Just land back on_ Galactica!"

The ZAFT-turned-Colonial Viper/MS pilot headed for the port pod and pancaked (AN: US Navy term for combat landing, if I'm not mistaken) the Mk VII on the deck.

She was the last pilot to land.

"_Galactica_, get us the hell out of here!"

The pods retracted, and _Galactica_ jumped.

Seconds later, the Baseship exploded due to internal damage taken from both ships.

LCAM-X01A _Archangel_

Kira sat in the command chair, feeling very, VERY wrong. It was Murrue's place, not his. But Murrue was on _Galactica_ right now.

"Contact on heat sensor and radar!"

Kira hopped over to Miriallia's post.

"Thank God. It's _Galactica_."

The Battlestar then entered view, and she had a passenger: the _Eternal_ was riding on her back.

"How the hell-"

The red ship detached from the Battlestar, then turned toward the _Archangel_ menacingly.

"I don't think Lacus is in command, Kira."

All of the ship's guns were pointed at the _Archangel_.

"Load anti-beam depth charges."

"Kira-"

"Do it! I'm not firing on Lacus' ship!"

The _Eternal_ opened fire, missing the _Archangel_ by bare meters.

Miriallia chuckled.

"Well, at least she's not under Lacus' control! If she was, those would have hit us!"

Then they noticed the crash damage as they circled.

And while it looked older,

Kira knew the ass end of a Cylon Heavy Raider when he saw one, and he saw one sticking out of the _Eternal_.

"She's been hijacked by the Cylons. Oh, my God, no."

How's THAT for a nightmare and a half?

The Guardian Centurions have taken over the _Eternal's_ weapons control, engine and navigational computers, but they don't have life support, so they have to take out the crew the old fashioned way.

But that makes a nightmare for Fleet defense, especially since _Galactica's_ been boarded, too, and she could be next to turn on them unwillingly.

The Cylons, however, cannot hijack Mobile Suits, so there's no worries there.

I used the Guardians to get the _Eternal_ in with the Colonials, and as for the ship landing on _Galactica_ so both could get to the Fleet, I thought about the Vipers and the flight pods, and went 'screw it'.

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: Lunamaria meets the enemy, up close and personal and two of the former Three Ships Alliance are forced to duel while the _Eternal's_ crew fights to regain control!

Ja Ne!


	8. Chapter 7: Boarding Actions

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 7: Boarding Actions

To recap the story: the _Archangel_, _Minerva_, the massive Destroy and just about everything near them has been sent across the galaxy due to a natural FTL event, where they were discovered by the Colonial Fleet. After jointly defeating a Cylon Baseship, Captains Murrue Ramius and Talia Gladys decide, for the safety of their crews and to get back to Earth, they would work with the Battlestar _Galactica_ and its' crew. After fending off seven baseships over the course of a week, the _Archangel_ was equipped with an FTL drive, allowing the ship to follow the Fleet and Galactica was fit with updated weapons by Major Ronald Pinkerton, the insane head of the Colonial Corps of Engineers. Later on, the _Minerva_ was also fit with one. After taking over an asteroid facility, Lunamaria Hawke, on her first mission in a Viper, discovered the Heavy Tender _Agrippa_, missing since the First Cylon War. This gives President Laura Roslin the excuse to promote Commander William Adama to the rank of Rear Admiral. 10 days later, during Colonial Day, Earth was given a ceremonial seat on the Quorum of Twelve, which had just been reformed. Soon after, a Raptor discovered Kobol, semi-mythical home of mankind. During a survey mission, Shinn Asuka's Raptor was shot down by Cylon Raiders. During the same mission, Major Pinkerton, who was escorting them with his FTL drive-equipped Mk I Viper, disappeared while giving them time to escape. Following this, Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii destroyed the Cylon Baseship in orbit, which would have allowed _Galactica_ to rescue their people, had not Boomer's Cylon programing kicked in, making her attempt to kill the Old Man. As if on cue, a Cylon Baseship jumped in, threatening the Fleet. The Fleet jumped, but _Galactica_ was separated from the civilians, the Terran ships and the _Agrippa_. In order to find the Fleet, they would have needed to stay in the original position for 12 hours, which would not have been an issue had the Tristans been taken offline for maintenance by Major Pinkerton just before he joined the scouting party. Instead, Gaeta was forced to network _Galactica's_ computers, making them vulnerable to cyber-attack by the Cylons. The Battlestar jumped back, discovering the Terran ship _Eternal_, which had been attacked by the then-unknown Guardian Cylons and made them jump using an ad-hoc FTL drive made of three Heavy Raider drives. _Galactica_ and _Eternal_ destroyed the Baseship, then both ships docked to rejoin the Fleet. Unfortunately, the _Eternal_ was hijacked by the Cylons that had boarded her and _Galactica_ was downed because the Cylon virus that infected her.

The _Minerva_ and _Archangel_ circled the hijacked _Eternal_, firing off anti-beam depth charges to keep the Cylons from killing anyone with the Eternal's very modest, but extremely deadly, beam cannon armament.

The Cylons realized what the two ships were doing, and switched tactics to something they knew very well: missile warfare.

The Eternal was a flying missile battery.

She opened fire, spewing missiles at the Fleet.

On the Archangel, Kira reacted quickly.

"CIWS, take out those missiles!"

The 75mm rapid-slewing-and-spewing Igelstellung CIWS cannons opened fire, taking out the massive numbers of missiles in concert with the Minerva's Picus turrets.

"What is taking them so long?!"

FFMH-Y101 _Eternal_

"How many?"

DeCosta looked at the Desert Tiger.

"A lot. It's kind of fitting, too: they look like GINNs or ZAKUs. We're fighting mini-Mobile Suits on a Mobile Suit carrier!"

Waltfeld looked at DeCosta.

"ROBOTS?"

He nodded, then both heard something tearing.

Both turned to see Lacus cutting off her dress at the knees and tossed away the excess.

"Uh-"

She hopped over to an arms locker and pulled out a TAR-21, then checked it over.

"I thought you didn't know how to use one of those!"

"I'm a pacifist, not stupid, Mr. Waltfeld. And these machines want our people dead. I will not tolerate that one bit." She grabbed three magazines and left the bridge.

"It's official: that lady terrifies me."

"Tell me about it."

FFMH-Y101 _Eternal_: Fire Control Access

Asuka Langley Sohryu took cover from the Centurions that had hijacked the weapons on board.

"SHINJI!"

Shinji Ikari, who was also taking cover from the robots, looked at his unofficial girlfriend. "WILL YOU PLEASE SHOOT AT THEM?!"

"I-I can't!"

Asuka sighed.

'I don't have a choice.'

"Then you're useless!"

His eyes opened, and in them was fear and rage.

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, the pair were Extendeds: Earth Alliance Naturals enhanced by a fuckton of drugs.

And Asuka had just-very unwillingly-used Shinji's block word.

He jumped out of cover, attacking the Centurions.

The machines did not see it coming. In less then five seconds, Shinji was on them, snapping metallic necks and using their own TAC-9-type SMGs against them.

Asuka wisely stayed out of his line of sight.

He was called the Second Coming of Cúchulainn, and it fit: he did not know pain and fear was forgotten within seconds.

All he had was bloodlust.

Even their trainers were scared of him, and told everyone NEVER to use the block word.

Their first handler learned that that hard way: they were still finding pieces of him on the _Agamemnon_-Class carrier they were originally assigned to.

And she had a lot of experience dealing with Shinji when he was in his frenzy.

The only real way to bring him out of it was sex, but that was not an option at the moment.

"Asuka to all hands: Cúchulainn the Second is loose."

Rei Ayanami's voice came from the other end of her radio.

Unlike Asuka and Shinji, Rei was a Combat Coordinator: a genetically engineered soldier once loyal only to the Alliance.

Of course, they kept breaking their loyalty blocks, so here she was.

"_Asuka_, PLEASE _tell me you didn't_!"

"I didn't have a choice! Those robots would have killed us both! Look, just redirect him towards where the robots are!"

"_Already done: hatches toward Navigational and Engine Control are open. And you're the one_-" Asuka sighed loudly as Shinji moved on, waiting to sate his bloodlust.

"Of course. I'm always the one that has to bring him out of it."

The voice of her fellow Extended filtered through the handset.

"_And the fact that you like riding him like a bicycle doesn't hur_t."

Asuka saw red.

"SHUT UP, MAKINAMI!"

Battlestar _Galactica_

Luna shook her head at the antics of her fellow pilots.

They didn't know what was going on outside, or why all the lights were out.

All they cared about was the battle they just left behind.

"Do you hear something?"

"Hear wha-"

Suddenly, a massive metal beast appeared in front of Flyboy.

Luna grabbed him by the back, narrowly avoiding the Centurion's claws from killing him.

"Cylon! RUN!"

This was the first time Lunamaria had ever seen a Cylon Centurion, and every instinct she had was yelling 'GET THE FUCK OUT'.

Who was she to argue?

All five pilots ran from the Cylon, with Luna and Apollo trailing behind.

"GET UP THERE! GO GO GO GO!"

The three nuggets got up a level while Luna and Apollo tripped.

Both pulled out their sidearms and poured every round they had into the beast.

Then Luna had an idea.

She lunged, aiming for its' neck.

Like the earlier models, it snapped in her grip like a twig.

"Captain!" Both looked up to see two Marines.

"You all right, Captain?"

Apollo nodded.

"Still breathing. I guess that's all right. Kat, Flyboy, Hotdog! You all right?"

All three pilots got back down.

"Think so."

"Can I get back to you on that?"

Flyboy kept checking his pulse.

Apollo looked at the Marines.

"SitRep."

"We've been boarded: Centurions fraking own the decks now. Normal bullets don't make a dent: explosive rounds are the only things that can take them down."

From her new perch on the fallen Centurion, Luna shook her head.

"The neck. It's lightly armored: bullets can take it out."

Twinam looked at Luna.

"How the hell-"

"I broke it, OK? Coordinators have enhanced strength. I was just pissed off enough to override my fear of the fucking thing."

Both Marines nodded, not quite understanding.

"So, you're like Major Pinkerton?"

Luna shrugged.

"No clue. How many ERs you have left?"

Twinam chuckled.

"We were just about to use the last one on that toaster you plugged."

"Oh, Lordy."

Apollo pulled out a notepad and wrote something down.

"Hotdog, Flyboy, I want you two to go to CIC. Give this to Colonel Tigh or the officer in charge." Both pilots nodded.

"Luna, Kat, on me. We and the Marines are going toaster shopping."

Luna, still not clear with Colonial jargon, simply looked confused.

"What?"

One of the Marines helpfully explained.

"We're hunting the Cylons down."

LCAM-X01A _Archangel_

The Cylons had networked the computers, and while Fire Control was clear, they still had weapons active. Kira cursed whoever built the damned Centurions in the first place while yelling to intercept any missiles the Eternal launched. "Kira, I hate to say it, but we REALLY need to fire back, and not with the CIWS!" Kira grimaced as the _Eternal_ came at them once more.

"The Cylons are sentient. Sentient beings have emotion. They have to feel fear."

Using that pearl of wisdom, he steeled himself.

"Valiants, fire!"

The two 110mm railguns fired twice, and the _Eternal_ banked hard left to avoid the shots.

"Ok. That worked."

"Won't work for long."

At that moment, the _Eternal_ stopped firing, although she was still moving.

"Archangel, _this_ _is_ Eternal! _We've disconnected weapons from that network the bastards set up_!"

Kira nodded.

"Can you get navigational control back?"

"_Best idea's just to cut the engines_!"

"No, you'll drift into one of the civilian ships! Get navigational control back first!"

Waltfeld chuckled on the other end.

"_We've got someone on that. He's a little bit screwy, but VERY deadly when he's pissed_."

FFHM-Y101 _Eternal_

Lacus had not seen any robots-active ones, at least-during her search of the _Eternal_.

The biggest firefight was in the hanger, and she was NOT going anywhere near that place.

The other ones were at Fire Control and Navigational, and Shinji had been loosed to deal with robots.

Then she head something over the radio was was carrying.

"Galactica t_o all ships. We have been boarded by a Cylon raiding party. Do not approach or attempt to dock with_ Galactica. K_eep a safe distance until we have secured the ship. I say again, we have been boarded by a Cylon raiding_-"

Static screeched from the portable radio.

THEN she was shot at by five of the Centurions that boarded the ship.

She quickly took cover, then blind-fired the assault rifle in her hands at the Cylons.

Not one of the bullets she fired hit, but it gave God's Own Anti-Son-Of-A-Bitch Machine (Shinji) enough of a distraction to kill the machines.

Lacus wisely got the hell out of there while Shinji continued his rampage through the ship.

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

"Anything?"

Gaeta nodded.

"The _Archangel_ and _Minerva_ are keeping the Eternal from targeting any of the civilian ships, and it looks like they just regained control of their weapons systems."

Tigh breathed out a sighed of relief.

Still, unless they took out the Cylons on board the Battlestar, they would be next.

"Where are the Cylons now?"

Gaeta pulled out the Battlestar's blueprints. (Taken, I might add, from the Major's quarters)

"Lieutenant Wallace reports his unit destroyed two centurions at this junction. They trapped a third in the ship's laundry. It can't walk, but it's still shooting."

"At least we've contained the threat to Auxiliary Fire Control."

Tigh shook his head at Kelly's naivety.

"Trust me. They're still heading for the Aft Damage Control."

He groaned.

"If Pinkerton was here, he would have killed the damn things already."

Then Gaeta gave them bad news.

"Sergeant Hadrian reports her unit had to halt their advance on deck 10 at frame 69: Cylons cut through the hull ahead of her and the compartments are open to space."

Kelly turned from Gaeta to Tigh.

"Smart move. Keeps us from chasing em."

"There is nothing between the last two Cylons and the decompression safeties. If you know any prayers, now's the time."

Gaeta tried a joke prayer.

"Lords of Kobol, PLEASE give us back Major Pinkerton so he can kill the Cylons and save our asses once again."

Against their better judgment, both men chuckled.

FFHM-Y101 _Eternal_: bridge

"I've got helm, navigational and engine control back!"

"We've still got a fuckton of robots in the hanger!"

DeCosta chuckled.

"Not for long. Good thing everyone's wearing spacesuits!"

Maya looked at him.

"You wouldn't."

"Go to hell, robot bastards!"

The hanger bay doors opened, followed by the catapult doors.

Everything that wasn't tried down was blown into the black, from the crew (who were safely cocooned in their spacesuits) and the robots, who were blown clear of the warship and right into line of sight of the _Eternal's_ AA guns.

"It's even better that those things are chrome plated! It makes them easier targets!"

The Picus guns fired a short burst, destroying the Cylon Centurions.

Thankfully, none of the crew were hit.

"Eternal, _what the hell just happened_?!"

Waltfeld hit DeCosta over the head.

"My idiot XO just decompressed the hanger and killed those robots with the CIWS. Would someone mind explaining what the fuck is going on?"

On the other end, Kira simply sighed.

"_A_ very _long story_."

Battlestar _Galactica_: Aft Damage Control

Lunamaria had seen insane plans before, but this was crazy. "We can't stop the Centurions with just us!" "Well, what the frak do you want?" She took cover, kicking something in the process. Luna picked up what she kicked: it was the Colonial version of the Mateba Autorevolver, Major Pinkerton's secondary sidearm. "What the hell is this thing doing here?" "He's clumsy." She looked at Collishaw. "He misplaces the damned thing a lot. And the Tristans are right above us, so..." Luna checked the weapon, finding that it was fully loaded. "Screw the peashooter." She holstered the ZAFT sidearm and took aim with the heavier magnum. "Remember, aim for the head." "Or the neck. Less armor there." An explosion was heard, and in came the Centurions: three of them. Someone, not one of the Marines or the pilots, then fired their weapon. (Later, they discovered that it was Billy Keikeya, Roslin's aide de camp, who was given a gun by Apollo)

"FIRE!"

Everyone opened fire, but due to their nervousness, every explosive round missed.

"Frak!"

Two of the Centurions looked at the party.

Luna fired two shots from the overpowered magnum, scoring two headshots.

She took aim at the last one, but at the most inopportune moment, the weapon jammed.

Of course, the Centurion had the same problem of being unable to fire, but only because it was out of bullets.

It looked at Luna and charged at her, but someone kicked it in the head, saving her life: the Destroy's blonde pilot, Stella Loussier, who had broken out of sickbay in all the chaos.

She was still dressed in a hospital gown, but that wasn't going to stop her from kicking the Cylon's ass.

It lunged, but Stella sucker punched the Cylon, stunning it.

Before it could recover, she leapt onto it and literally TORE the head off.

She landed on the deck as it fell. Watching the whole thing were the _Galactica_ Marines, pilots and Luna.

All of whom were gaping.

Stella, still holding the head in her left hand, shyly waved at them.

Although scared witless, shitless and anything involving the adjective 'less', Luna waved back.

"Stella wanted to help."

"Help scare us shitless? Great job."

Luna entered Aft Damage Control, picked up a phone and dialed CIC.

"_CIC_."

"Aft Damage Control secured. Also-"

She looked at Stella, who was having a staring contest with the Marines.

"The Destroy's pilot is awake."

She hung up, then decided she needed to undergo the fine tradition of getting totally wasted.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Sickbay, 45 minutes later

Tigh and Apollo stood by the almost motionless body of Admiral Adama.

The only thing that proved the Old Man was still alive was his breathing.

Luna and Stella were nearby, and the latter was watching the Old Man.

"What's wrong?"

Luna pursed her lips while trying to think of a way to explain it to her.

The blunt way was the only way, though.

"Well, someone he trusted a lot shot him twice. They operated and saved his life, but he's still hurt."

Stella nodded.

"Like me."

Luna looked at Ishay.

"How the hell is she still alive? I mean, she needs certain drugs-"

"We know. Major Pinkerton ordered us to give her a blood transfusion."

The ZAFT Red was now VERY confused.

"How-"

Ishay looked at her.

"We've done this, too: make super-soldiers out of normal people."

Luna nodded, understanding now.

Since the Colonials did this, likely during the First Cylon War, (AN: Yeah, right) they must've found way to reverse it, or find a way for them not to be overly reliant on the drugs.

"Doc Cottle's on his way. He'll be here any minute."

Roslin looked at Apollo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's going to be all right. You know that." Apollo nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I-I know that."

Roslin looked at Tigh.

"Colonel, I assume there's still a cell out there waiting for me."

Tigh looked back briefly.

"That's right."

Roslin looked at the Gemenese Marine.

"Corporal Venner, I'm ready."

The President left sickbay.

Tigh shook his head.

"I can't believe you sided with that woman against the old man. I wouldn't do that if you put a gun to my head."

Then he looked at Apollo.

"And you did. As far as I'm concerned, you're not fit to wear a uniform."

Apollo nodded.

"Hmm. You're right about that part. I am not fit to wear the uniform. Maybe I never was."

He looked at Tigh.

"Then again, neither are you. This isn't my ship. And it sure as hell isn't yours."

He pointed at his father.

"It's his. And when he wakes up... he'll decide what to do with the both of us."

Apollo left soon after, heading for the brig.

Tigh shook his head in disbelief.

"Thank the Gods I didn't have kids."

He left sickbay, followed by Lunamaria.

"Sir, I need to head back to the _Minerva_." Tigh let out a long suffering sigh.

"Get to the port pod and grab a Raptor."

"Sir-"

Tigh turned to look at her. "What?!"

She blinked.

"I..don't know how. Besides, all the Raptors are assigned to _Galactica_, and no one could fly it back if I take one."

Tigh snarled.

"Get Kat or Racetrack to fly you back, then!"

Luna blinked, never having dealt with the XO before.

"Ok, then. I'm dismissed, Colonel."

And Stella reenters the fray, almost as crazy as Major Pinkerton.

(The Major appears behind the Author)

PINKERTON: And where the frak am I?

AUTHOR: Oh, don't worry. You'll pop up later. I just don't have much use for you right now.

PINKERTON: RIGHT. You're just trying to limit your ACOC (Author Created Original Character) use to a bare minimum. Putting in the _NGE_ kids was a nice, but confusing, touch, though.

AUTHOR: Couldn't pull in the _Stargazer_ kids, could I? One's _dead_, one's _going_ to be dead, and the _other_...not sure about _him_. Haven't watched _Stargazer_ in a while.

PINKERTON: You haven't watched _Gundam_ PERIOD in a while.

AUTHOR: That too. As much as I want to continue this conversation, I'm going to have to end it.

PINKERTON: Wait just a-

(Trap door opens and the Major falls into it)

PINKERTON: YOU FRAKING BASTARD!

Pilots for the _Stargazer_ Gundams are:

Shinji: Strike Noir (VPSA colors are the same as Evangelion Unit-01, _Rebuild 2.22_ version)

Asuka: Rosso Aegis (VSPA colors are the same as Evangelion Unit-02, _Rebuild 2.22_ version)

Mari: Blu Duel (VPSA, as much as I REALLY don't want to make it so, is the same _horrid_ paintjob as Unit-08 from_ Rebuild of Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo_)

Rei: Verde Buster (VPSA is the same as Evangelion Unit-00, _Neon-Genesis_ version, after the fight with Ramiel)

Their 'handler' (and the one who got them away from Phantom Pain) is Lt. Colonel Misato Katsuragi, formally from the Republic of South East Asia. She's on board the _Eternal_ with them, but won't be seen for a while.

It's also a tip of the hat to a _Gundam SEED/Stargate SG-1_ crossover. I forget the name, though.

Next Time on _THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition_: We see Tigh declare marshal law from the Terran POV, Luna goes on the mission to rescue Shinn and company from Kobol and the Old Man returns!

Ja Ne!


	9. Chapter 8: Adama Meets the Princess

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 8: Marshal Law/Adama Meets the Princess

While _Galactica_ was confirmed as secure, the _Eternal_ was not.

Of course, they had someone working on that.

As such, Marines that were fresh from taking out the Cylons on _Galactica_ were quickly transferred to take on the Cylons on the _Eternal_.

Kira decided to take the Freedom back to its' original home in order to see the woman he planned on marrying one day.

"Freedom to _Eternal_: requesting permission to dock."

"_Permission granted. Be advised, Marines are still searching for Cylons on board_."

Kira nodded as he took the Freedom into the catapult airlock.

The hatch closed and repressurized, allowing Kira to take the Freedom inside.

There was only one empty gantry, which surprised him, seeing as they had very few pilots.

Now, though, they had an excess of Mobile Suits.

'Maybe we can transfer some of them to _Galactica_.'

The Freedom entered the gantry, then locked down.

He opened the hatch and left the MS, then saw Lacus on the hanger bay floor.

"Lacus!"

She wasn't paying attention, so he surprised her.

"Kira!"

He landed on the deck and hugged her, then looked at her very short dress.

"What happened?"

Lacus shrugged.

"I tried stopping the robots-"

"Cylons. That's what they're called. We've run into them, too."

Lacus, although surprised, calmly nodded.

"Oh."

Both headed to the bridge while Kira told her everything that happened after they 'disappeared' from Berlin.

When they arrived, Waltfeld looked at them.

"You'd better hear this."

He turned on the radio.

Tigh's voice filtered into the bridge.

"..._place_ _aboard_ Colonial One _are unfortunate. Laura Roslin's actions in suborning mutiny and sedition among the military could not be tolerated. Therefore Admiral Adama was left with no choice other than to remove her from office. Miss Roslin is now resting comfortably aboard this ship, where she will remain until such time as the Admiral deems otherwise. As it appears obvious that the government cannot function under the current circumstances, I have decided to dissolve the Quorum of Twelve. And as of this moment, I have declared martial law_."

Kira gaped.

He didn't think that _Galactica's_ XO was capable of this.

Lacus was even more outraged. "How can he do this? The people-"

"President Roslin broke the agreement she had with Admiral Adama by ordering Lieutenant Thrace to steal the Raider. Still, the only way to control Colonel Tigh is Admiral Adama."

Battlestar _Galactica_: Port Flight Pod, 2 hours earlier

Luna sat in Raptor 547 with Apollo as her co-pilot/instructor.

"Alright. The mission's simple: get to Kobol, pick up the transponder from Raptor 01, land and find our people."

Luna eased the Raptor off the deck, following Racetrack's bird.

"FTL jump in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Both Raptors jumped over Kobol, finding no Cylons in orbit.

"Picking up the beacon!"

Apollo, wearing combat fatigues, nodded.

"Take us down, Ensign."

Luna nodded, not used to the controls.

"Oh, God. Here we go!"

Her Raptor made a power dive, entering the atmosphere.

"This isn't a Viper, Luna!"

"I'm barely qualified to fly this thing! I'm a Viper and MS pilot!"

The Raptor shook like a paint mixer, but it held, and they flew over the forests of the human homeworld.

"Missiles!"

Luna spotted the deadly weapons coming at them.

"Oh, crap."

She banked left, then started turning to avoid the two weapons from hitting them.

"JAM THEM!"

The ECO, Skulls, worked the panel as fast as he could.

"Trying!"

Luna kept flying the Raptor as if it was her Viper, and she made the missiles follow her.

"Missiles lost their lock!"

Luna pulled up, and the missiles went ballistic, hitting the SAM battery they were launched from.

Then she spotted the Centurions: five of them, and she was now behind Chief Tyrol, who was shooting at the Cylons. She opened fire with the 50mm autocannon, shredding the Centurions.

He looked at his gun, then behind him at the Raptor that was hovering there.

"You're welcome."

Luna set the Raptor down, then took off her ZAFT-issue helmet.

"That was insane."

Apollo looked at her before he got out.

"You were taught to fly a Viper by two of the most insane pilots in the Fleet. Kind of fitting that you'd honor them doing something so crazy."

Luna paled.

Apollo was right: she learned to fly the Colonial fighter from what little instructions that Major Pinkerton and Lieutenant Thrace gave her.

"Oh, NO. Oh, dear God, NO."

Battlestar _Galactica_: Present Time

Luna was still freaking the hell out when she landed on _Galactica_.

"I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy-"

Shinn looked at Luna.

"What the hell's up with YOU?"

She just kept walking toward the pilot locker room.

She had the right idea: he needed a shower before he took a flight back to the _Minerva_.

He looked like shit. He looked at Hotdog.

"What the hell happened after we crashed?"

"Shit hit the fan, kid. President was arrested, Boomer turned out to be a Cylon and she shot the Old Man."

He left Shinn alone and headed for his Viper.

Shinn was left gaping.

Boomer, who was considered the Old Man's surrogate daughter, SHOT him?

While Shinn didn't know him all that well, Adama seemed like a good man.

He prayed that the Old Man was still alive.

He saw Colonel Tigh and Apollo out of the corner of his eye.

"And Pinkerton?"

"We found a few pieces of his Viper, but according to the guys on the ground, he was fighting off the Cylons as long as he could. Shinn said he jumped after he ran out of ammo."

Tigh cursed under his breath.

While he was crazy, the Major was no Cylon: dozens of veterans, including the Old Man himself, knew the crazy frak during the War.

"So he's either dead-"

"Or in Cylon hands, getting the shit tortured out of him."

Tigh scoffed.

"Please. The Cylons can't torture the man. He's laugh it off. For him, pain is pleasure."

Apollo looked like he was about to puke.

"That's something I didn't need to know."

He quickly ran off, likely going for the head.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Storage Room 1579, 72 hours later

SR-1579 on Deck 29 was known as the 'Major's Private Madhouse', as it was just that: Major Pinkerton's laboratory.

While the Major was gone, it was assumed that if he survived (which he always did) he would like to take a good, long look at the new Cylon Centurions.

"Why exactly are WE dragging these things to the Madhouse?"

Uryū looked at Keigo Asano, one of _Galactica's_ knuckledraggers.

"Shut up."

The pair made it to the hatch, and they noticed what looked like a modern card-reader beside the hatch.

"You have GOT to be kidding me."

It seemed the Major was not only crazy, but paranoid, too.

Then again, the Cylons could want his shit.

"I don't believe this."

Uryū pulled out his ID card and swiped it through.

The hatch clicked, and Uryū spun the deadbolt to unlock and open the door.

It seemed the Major's paranoia extended to other things, as a .30 caliber machine gun hung from the ceiling.

"You have GOT to be shitting me. Why the hell would he install a MACHINE GUN attached to the ceiling?!"

Uryū shook his head.

"Don't question the insane one. Understanding him will simply drive you bat-shit crazy."

Keigo simply wheeled into the modern Centurion, then left to collect the rest.

The one from the ships' laundry was still operational, but after Stella was done...

Well, let's just say she took off its' arms in the most violent way possible.

Then she beat it with the detached limbs.

The Marines taped the whole thing and were now using it as an instructional tool. "Here comes the one from the laundry room!"

He wheeled the still-active Cylon into the Madhouse.

It wasn't transmitting anything, (Stella saw to that) so Tigh left it alone. (AN: Hint, hint)

"How many of these things were there?"

Uryū, who was part of the team that secured Secondary Fire Control, shrugged.

"20 or so."

The knuckledragger wheeled in one of the Centurions from the Eternal.

This one was a 0005, (pronounced 'Triple-Oh Five') which confused the bespectacled Marine.

"Why the hell would the toasters recommission a 50 year old model?"

Keigo shrugged unhelpfully.

"To screw with us? Maybe they're saying 'hey, you're so fraked we're gonna send our older selves after you'!"

Uryū punched the knuckledragger in the head.

"Shut up and get those things in there, you fraking idiot."

Battlestar _Galactica_: Sickbay

Lacus walked into the room where the Old Man, as he was called, was currently resting after being wounded by someone he trusted and loved. She wore the same white dress that she wore on when she came aboard the _Archangel_ almost three years before.

"Excuse me, doctor?"

The white haired Sherman Cottle looked at the pink haired girl and dropped his cigarette to the deck. "Uh-"

NOW Lacus was getting annoyed.

"No, Doctor, it is not dyed. It IS my natural hair color."

She had been asked that question at least 14 times and now she was getting tired of answering it.

"Now, where is Admiral Adama?"

He pointed at a bed surrounded by curtains.

"He's not awake, so don't expect anything."

She smiled and nodded while the doctor picked up his cancer stick. Lacus approached the curtain, drew it back and entered before closing it.

"My gods..."

She looked at the Old Man, who was now awake and speaking, despite the tube forcing air into his lungs.

"Boomer killed me and now I'm looking at one of the Lords."

Lacus had the decency to blush.

"No, Admiral. My name is Lacus Cline. I'm from the _Eternal_."

Cottle then arrived, looked at her briefly and took the tube out of Adama's throat.

"You have odd timing, little girl."

"I didn't know he would wake up."

Cottle gave her a look.

"Honestly?"

"Doc."

Adama tried getting up.

"Hold it, Admiral, you're still-"

"Get me a godsdamn cane if you need to, but I'm not staying in that bed any longer."

Cottle flinched slightly, then left to get Adama a robe.

The Old Man sat up in his hospital bed, then looked at Lacus.

"I've never heard of the Eternal. It's another _Earth_ ship?"

"Yes. We were attacked-"

Cottle and Ishay walked over with a cane and bathrobe.

"I need to find out what the hell's been going on, Ms. Cline. I'm sorry, but I don't have the time to listen to your story. Maybe later."

Lacus nodded, then turned to leave and give the Admiral some privacy.

She barely got five meters out from the hatch when someone spoke to her.

"Hell of a way to meet someone."

She turned to see Athrun, who was wearing a Colonial uniform.

"Athrun. How-"

"We're fine. _Galactica_ and the rest of the Fleet found us in deep space. It's been a wild couple of months."

Lacus nodded.

"The same could be said for Earth. The war's gotten worse since you left."

Athrun winced, then asked the million dollar question.

"Nukes?"

"No, but ZAFT is being forced off Earth. Slowly, but it's happening. They've already retaken the Suez Canal and they've forced ZAFT out of Gibraltar."

Athrun looked at his former fiance.

"ZAFT's held onto that base since the last war."

"And the Alliance kicked them out. They've only got a few Earth-based outposts left: everyone's going to Carpentaria."

Athrun shook his head.

ZAFT could have won the war if they still had the _Minerva_.

Then something came to mind.

"Lacus, does the _Eternal_ still have its' navigational data from the Cylon ship that attacked you?"

Lacus shrugged.

"I don't know. Everyone's having a hard time believing that we're so far from home. That the stars aren't the ones they know."

He gripped the woman's shoulders gently.

"Lacus, this is important. Either the _Eternal's_ computers or the ones in the Cylon Heavy Raiders could have data we need to get to Earth. Lieutenant Gaeta or Major-" He flinched for a second and let go of her. He completely forgot that Major Pinkerton was missing.

"Major who?"

Athrun sighed.

"A man as crazy as my father at the end, but as smart as the entire DSSD combined to counter it. He went missing over Kobol, a planet we were scouting, about 3 days ago. The Colonials think he's still alive, something about him surviving worse then a squadron of Raiders, but I personally think he's dead."

Lacus shook her head.

"Never give up hope on life. We may yet see him again."

Athrun chuckled.

"Well, he's one of the few hopes we've got to getting home before the bastards start using nuclear weapons."

"Don't think like that, Athrun."

BB-01 _Minerva_

Luna watched as a Mobile Suit was ferried from the _Eternal_ to the _Minerva_. It was another Savior, and it was towed by a GOUF Ignited.

While her ZAKU's reconstruction was almost complete, she wasn't going to fly it anymore. She was transferred to the Impulse while Shinn got the new Destiny.

It, as well as Ray's ZAKU Phantom, were going to _Galactica_.

They also found out why his results were screwy: Ray was a clone.

And a clone of Neo Roanoke's father, who also happened to be Mu La Flaga, the Hawk of Endymion Crater.

Took a while for the man to accept that, but he remembered now.

Because of that, plus the evidence that Chairman Durandal was going to forcibly engineer humanity into predestined roles and his absolute loyalty to the bastard, (and that his 'brother', Rau Le Creuset, was even crazier then Major Pinkerton and tried to kill every human being on Earth before Kira shoved a beam saber through his machine's cockpit) Captain Gladys ordered the boy stripped of his rank and sent to the brig until they got back to Earth.

Colonel Tigh wanted him spaced.

So did everyone else.

"Luna!"

The redhead turned to face Shinn and Meyrin.

"Looks like you haven't heard."

"Heard what?"

Shinn chuckled.

"How would you like to be pilot of the Freedom?"

She blinked.

"What?"

"Kira's training on the new X20A Strike Freedom right now, and they're handing over the original model."

Luna, shell shocked and confused, looked at the Core Splendor.

"What about the Impulse?"

Shinn chuckled.

"They're going to transfer the Impulse over to _Galactica_, too. Spreads out our Mobile Suits and some of the pilots on _Galactica_ will get MS training while we're at it."

Luna chuckled.

"They'll need a teacher. What the hell. I'll take the Freedom and transfer to _Galactica_. Get the new MS pilots up to speed."

"Luna-"

"Someone needs to do it. Might as well be me. They know me. Nice reversal, too: me teaching them instead of the other way 'round."

She looked at her ZAFT Red uniform.

"Looks like I'll need a new uniform, too. I can't wear this thing on a Colonial ship if I'm stationed there for good."

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

It had been 18 hours since they started looking for Roslin since her escape from _Galactica_, and they still hadn't found her.

She had sent a message to the rest of the Fleet, asking those who would join her to do so when a sign was given.

"Sir, _Astral Queen_ just jumped away."

Tigh chuckled bitterly.

"Well, we found her."

Seconds later, other ships started jumping away: 25 of them, including, with a newly and properly installed FTL drive, the _Eternal_.

Gaeta stated the obvious.

Tigh was even less helpful.

"That's almost a third of the Fleet."

Adama quietly left CIC, leaving a stunned XO and OOD behind.

Ok, that's Fragged, Resistance and the Fleet POV of The Farm. All in one chapter.

Next up is Home, plus a bonus.

Battlestar _Galactica_ mobile weapons complement

50+ x Vipers, Mks II and VII (not enough pilots to pull in the Mk IIIs)

15 x Raptors

1 x ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior

1 x ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom

2 x ZGMF-X57S Impulse

3 x GAT-04 Windam

5 x MVF-11F Murasume

Equipment to equip ZAKUs with Wizard Packs (Impulse still needs the _Minerva_ for Silhouette Packs)

_Archangel_ mobile weapon complement

10 x MVF-11F Murasume

1 x MBF-02 Strike Rouge

1 x ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom

1 x ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice

1 x ZGMF-X24S Chaos

1 x ORB-01 Akatsuki

_Minerva_ mobile weapon complement

1 x ZGMF-X10A Freedom

1 x ZGMF-X42S Destiny

4 x GAT-04 Windam

4 x ZGMF-2000 GOUF Ignited

1 x ZGMF-X23S Savior

_Eternal_ mobile weapon complement

1 x ZGMF-X666S Legend

1 x GAT-X105E+AQME-X09S Strike Noir

1 x GAT-X103AP Verde Buster

1 x GAT-X1022 Blu Duel

1 x GAT-X303AA Rosso Aegis

4 x ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper

While you're all going 'overpowered, WTF', we still have a principle problem: too many machines, not enough pilots.

Next Time on THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition: Adama reunites the Fleet while the Cylons attempt to kill them all once and for all.

Ja Ne!


	10. Chapter 9: Reunion

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 9: Reunion/Power Overwhelming

Over the four days the Fleet was split up, Adama had done a lot of thinking.

His new CAG was incompetent, as his actions almost got Hotdog to kill Kat and he nearly destroyed two ships during a bungled refueling operation.

He needed his son back.

And more to the point, he needed to apologize to Roslin for overacting prior to him being shot.

The Old Man walked into CIC with a purpose.

"Mr. Gaeta. I want to see all recon material on Kobol immediately in my quarters."

Although shocked, Gaeta hopped to it.

"Aye, sir."

Tigh looked at Adama.

"Kobol?"

Adama stared back, his eyes alight.

"Yes. I'm putting the fleet back together. I'm putting our family back together. This ends now."

He left CIC.

LACM-X01A _Archangel_

Murrue Ramius flipped through a book she borrowed from Admiral Adama.

He said it was a gift, but she planned on handing it back to him once she was finished.

The phone on the armrest of the captain's chair rang.

"Ok, now what?"

She picked it up.

"_Archangel_ Actual. To whom am I speaking?"

"_Murrue, this is _Galactica_ Actual_."

Murrue blinked.

'I was just THINKING about the man.'

"Admiral. What can I do for you?"

Adama sounded stronger then the last time she spoke with her.

"_I need to transfer my flag to the Archangel for a special mission_."

That worried her.

"Special mission?"

"_I want to jump the _Archangel_ to Kobol and take the ship into the atmosphere. We're going to make sure the President stays safe down there_."

Murrue fought long and hard to keep from smirking.

"How many Vipers are you bringing with you?"

"_Ten, plus two Raptors. After five hours, _Galactica_ and the rest of the Fleet will jump into Kobol orbit_." That was asking for trouble in Murrue's eyes.

Then again, the Cylons didn't stand a chance in hell against the combined firepower of _Galactica_, _Agrippa_ and the Terran warships.

"Then the _Archangel_ is yours."

"_We'll be there in 45 minutes. Spin up your FTL drive and get ready_."

FFHM-Y101 _Eternal_: Kobol orbit

Waltfeld shook his head.

Lacus was too easily swayed by Roslin's words.

Sure, he liked the singer (who didn't?) but this was an act of stupid that no one could forgive.

Then the radar and heat sensors started going off.

"Contact! It's entering the atmosphere!"

Lacus and Waltfeld hopped over to a window and saw their mystery ship.

It was the _Archangel_, and was diving into the atmosphere.

"Oh, shit."

Lacus looked at him.

"Why is this a bad thing, Mr. Waltfeld?"

"Easy. Murrue's still with Adama. And the _Archangel_ easily outguns every ship in this fleet. Including us."

"I don;t think she's willing to fight us, Andy."

The Desert Tiger looked at the pink haired girl.

"Sorry, Lacus, but I have to be more realistic."

LCAM-X01A _Archangel_

Adama held onto the Captain's seat as the _Archangel_ fell like a rock.

"Any signals?"

Miriallia shook her head.

"Not yet!"

The ship then tasted Kobol's air for the first time.

"Activating levitator! Vertical speed decreasing!"

The _Archangel_ stopped falling, then began flying over the surface.

"Picking up radio signals."

Adama looked at the _Archangel's_ communications officer.

"You know what to do."

Miriallia shook her head at being turned into a glorified telephone operator.

"You're on, Admiral."

He picked up the slim phone.

"_Who is this_?"

"This is Admiral Adama. Please patch me into the President."

He heard scuffling over the speakers.

"_Admiral_?"

He smiled.

"Madam President. I came to help you search for the Tomb of Athena. I think you would like staying on the _Archangel_ better then walking all over Kobol."

The tired voice of the President answered.

"_Yes. We've...we've lost people down here. I'm...I'm not willing to lose any more_."

He looked at Miriallia, then covered the mouthpiece.

"Send out one of the Raptors to pick them up."

She nodded as the port catapult hatch opened and a Raptor flew out.

"Laura, we've just sent out a Raptor to pick you and your people up."

"_Bill, there's something you should know. There's a Cylon down here. It's the same model as the one that shot you_."

Adama pursed his lips, then calmed down.

It wasn't Boomer.

She was probably on the Cylon homeworld, living the good life for trying to kill him. (AN: We _BSG_ fans know better, of course)

"Let it on board. But if it tries anything-"

"_Bill, she saved our lives twice and she's guiding us to the Tomb. She's also pregnant_."

At this, he dropped the phone.

"Frak me."

He picked the phone up.

"You're sure, Madam President?" "_She's showing. I'm sure_."

He wasn't going to bother asking who the father was.

Some idiot, probably.

5 hours later: Kobol orbit

The ships of Adama's Fleet jumped beside Roslin's.

Waltfeld had a tiny panic attack, but then noticed that while the civilian ships were joining them, the warships were holding position.

"It seems Admiral Adama's intentions were peaceful."

Then all hell broke loose.

"Contacts! At least 40!"

The bridge crew looked to their left, seeing Cylon Baseship after Baseship jump in.

All kinds of models, from the famous and familiar double discs from the First Cylon War to the modern double Y and everything in between.

"Jesus H. Christ. There is no way in hell we can hold off 40 Baseships!"

Lacus sat in the Captain's seat.

"We will try, nevertheless. Turn the _Eternal_ toward them."

Waltfeld growled, but realized Lacus was right.

They needed to buy the civies time to get the hell out of there.

"Launch all Mobile Suits! Activate N-Jammers so they don't nuke us to death!"

_Galactica_ and _Minerva_ joined the _Eternal_ on the line, the faster ship blasting away with her plasma cannons.

_Galactica_ launched every Viper she had, but they were so outnumbered it was not funny.

To give you an idea, each modern Baseship carries at least 600 Raiders.

The older ones have been modified to carry four to 500.

Even with the lowest numbers, that's over 6000 Raiders against 57 Vipers and less then 40 Mobile Suits. (AN: My brother has a special word for how screwed they are: butt-fucked)

The _Archangel_ jumped in, then deployed her two positron cannons, firing both in 15 second intervals. Two first two shots culled about 1000 Raiders each, but the next four only got a about one hundred apiece.

Missiles, 75 and 76mm cannon fire and fighters shot down as many fighters and missiles as they could, but they were getting encircled.

The Fleet was still spinning up their FTL drives.

And the Raiders were getting through _Galactica's_ unholy flak screen.

Just as the fate of Colonial humanity seemed sealed, a massive wall suddenly appeared in front of the Raiders.

This wall was a modified _Mercury_-Class Battlestar that had just jumped in: the Battlestar _Athena_, assigned to the Colonial Corps of Engineers.

Tiny 55mm AA turrets opened fire on the Raiders, killing dozens and forcing them back while she launched her Mk VIIB Vipers: all 12 squadrons of them.

Four more Battlestars, _Orion_-Class, jumped in to cover the civilian Fleet's flanks.

These, again, were CCE: the _Troy, Ourea, Echidna _and_ Uranus_.

They launched out all 20 of their Viper squadrons (five per ship) to assist _Galactica's_ beleaguered Vipers.

The Cylon's nightmare wasn't over, though: a monster jumped in behind them: the Battlestar Dreadnought _Zeus_, the 90 kilometer long ultimate Colonial warship.

The massive BSD trained her giant 1200cm guns on the Baseships and fired one volley.

One of these rounds was enough to break the back of a Battlestar like _Galactica_, which had heavier armor then any Baseship.

And she just fired _80_ of them at the Cylons.

One of the double disc Baseships was destroyed instantly, followed by three more of her kind.

As if to make things worse, another _Zeus_-Class Battlestar Dreadnought, the _Macon_, jumped in to keep them from running.

The _Macon's_ older sister, the _Akron_, jumped in over them with all of their guns pointed at them.

At this point, the Cylons tried firing nuclear volleys at the Battlestar Dreadnoughts, but due to the N-Jammers, the nukes failed to go off. 9 of the Baseships were destroyed, 12 were about to explode, and 8 were scrap metal from the _Zeus'_ opening volley.

The surviving 11 and any Raider had hadn't been destroyed jumped before the Colonials could destroy them.

On the _Archangel_, Adama looked at the massive BSDs as they rotated and entered defensive formation alongside the Fleet with practiced ease.

"Patch me into the _Athena_."

If he was right, the insanity was only going to get worse. "_Athena_ Actual, this is _Archangel_ Actual."

A stereotypical Indian war whoop was the Old Man's answer.

"Oh, dear gods, he's back."

"_That's right, folks! Psycho's back and I'm crazier then ever_!"

Battlestar Galactica: Port Flight Pod, 20 minutes later

A CCE Raptor landed on the deck lift and went down into the airlock.

As soon as it was pressurized, the Raptor was wheeled in.

The knuckledraggers looked in horror at the man piloting the machine.

It was the man they thought (and some hoped and prayed) was dead after that first disaster over Kobol: Major Ronald 'Psycho' Pinkerton.

He was, of course, grinning like a loon as per usual.

The Raptor came to a stop, and out came half a dozen Marines, the Major and two CCE officers.

Tigh, who was in command until Adama got back, gaped.

"How the hell-"

"Blind jumps suck at times. Not this time."

He looked around.

"So, what'd I miss?"

Tigh didn't bother dignifying that with a response.

"How many CCE ships do you have?"

The Major handed over a list.

Tigh, after looking at just half a page, fainted.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Admiral Adama's quarters: 1 hour later

After a rather eventual trip, Adama finally returned to his Battlestar.

Waiting to speak with him was Major Pinkerton.

"Major."

The Major stood and saluted.

"Admiral. Good to see you again, sir."

Adama shook his head.

"I'm not going to bother asking how you survived that ambush over Kobol. It'll probably be so insane my head will explode."

"Not really. Made a blind jump, somehow ended up over Gemenon and near a small CCE task force that survived the Fall."

Adama sighed.

"I'll be blunt. How many of your ships survived the Cylon attack?"

The Major chuckled.

"All of them. We also recovered about 200 civilian ships, about 10 reservist ships-transports, mostly-and 33 regular Colonial Fleet vessels, including the _Atlantia."_

Adama looked at the Major.

"She wasn't destroyed: she made a blind jump right in front of the _Zeus_. Admiral Negala was almost dead, though. He heard your transmission, and the last order he gave to his XO to give you these if they ever ran into you."

He handed Adama two rank pins.

They were Fleet Admiral's stars.

"Congratulations, Fleet Admiral Adama."

It was bittersweet for the Old Man.

He gave up trying to get any higher then Commander years ago.

Now he was the highest ranking officer in the Colonial Fleet, but all of his fellow officers were dead. "Why didn't the CCE follow us?"

This made the Major lean back with an embarrassing sigh.

"Admiral, my people are engineers, scientists. The only reason they have a military rank was Admiral Avalonia's edict that the CCE be a military organization. They aren't soldiers. Every time they picked up a Cylon Baseship, they gave the order to jump rather then stand and fight. It pissed off the Viper pilots and Marines-"

Adama understood that, at least.

While most of the CCE were civilians given military ranks and almost no training, the pilots, Marines, helmsmen, gunners, and most bridge operators were drafted members of the regular forces.

But it was the scientists and engineers that were technically in command, not them.

And the only one who had any real military training was the man sitting in front of the Fleet Admiral. "It was only logical for them to run. They were really happy to see me, so when I gave the order to follow you to Kobol, they jumped at the chance."

"Why didn't the regular Fleet personnel take command?"

The Major gave Adama a pointed look.

"Bill, you know damned well why. We have secrets that the rest of the regular forces cannot know."

Adama knew a few of those secrets.

And he was never going to tell anyone.

"Well, the Cylons will think twice before attacking us again. Especially with those _Zeus_-Class BSDs."

"Speaking of which, I have something for you to sign."

He pulled out a small stack of papers.

"The moment you sign these, all 10 _Zeus_-Class BSDs are under your command."

Adama fainted at the thought of having the most heavily armed ships ever built under his command.

Battlestar _Athena_: CIC

The _Athena_ was a _special_ Battlestar.

When the regulars started building her, the CCE took it and started modifying the ship. It was one kilometer longer, wider and taller then a normal _Mercury_-Class Battlestar by the time they were finished, and that extra space was a godsend for men like Major Pinkerton.

At the moment, though, Captain Ritsuko Akagi, the third most-brilliant person in the CCE (the top two spots, in order of brilliance, were her mother, Naoko, and the Major himself) was annoyed with it. She liked the smaller labs on the Corps' _Orion_-Class Pocket Battlestars. But now was not the time for that.

The Major had given her a job, and the beam turret in front of her was going to help her do it. The weapon had been taken from a barbette on _Galactica_ (she didn't exactly need it at the moment, what with the huge number of warships covering the new flagship of the military fleet) and he had given her the job of reverse engineering the beam weapon and applying any knowledge taken from them to the plasma cannons still fit to the _Athena's_ backside.

Those weapons, while one of the Major's crowning achievements, were also one of his greatest failures.

While, in theory, they could punch through any Cylon armor with ease, they simply didn't work.

It wasn't exactly the Major's fault: the beam cannons were simply too advanced and while he a basic idea on how they worked, he didn't know exactly how.

With the GaZuOOT beam cannons, now they had the opportunity to fix that problem.

She smirked at the thought.

She would be fixing the Major's mistake.

Well, not Major anymore.

Fleet Admiral Adama had seen it fit to promote the bastard to full-bird Colonel.

After all, he had been in the Fleet for a hell of a lot longer then most of them had been alive.

It was also a bad sign.

Every time he was promoted, something destructive happened.

The last time was when Zarek blew up that government building and killed 50 CCE personnel.

Ritsuko shook it off.

She had work to do.

And the new Colonel was counting on her to get those damned things operational.

_Astral Queen_: 28 hours later

Tom Zarek fumed.

The military, under now-Fleet Admiral Adama, had become more powerful and influential thanks to the Colonial Corps of Engineers.

"Hey, Tom?"

Zarek looked at one of his prison-mates.

"What is it?"

"The _Athena's_ doing something. Not sure what, but-"

Those were the last words spoken on the _Astral Queen_, as the _Athena_ opened fire with her newly-operational beam cannons.

_Colonial One_: 1500 hours, Kobol Time

Roslin looked at the smiling Colonel.

"Why did you destroy the _Astral Queen_?"

Ron scoffed.

"Why the hell are you looking at ME? I may have ordered Akagi the Younger to get those damned things online, but I never ordered her to fire. She IS technically the commander of the _Athena._ Go look at her if you want a scapegoat."

He produced a report out of his jacket.

"This was a case of incompetence on my part. The cannons were still in fire-mode. I simply forgot to safe them after the failed test 7 years ago."

He chuckled.

"Besides, think of it this way. Zarek is dead, and you no longer have to deal with him stirring up trouble in the Quorum or with the rest of the Fleet."

"Colonel, I will remind you that you had every reason to kill Zarek. He disrupted shipments of supplies to a CCE convoy for over a year, killed 50 of your people on Sagittaron during the bombing that landed him in prison-"

"He was a member of the Quorum of Twelve. That more or less makes a person untouchable."

He shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable on the chair.

"Besides, even if I killed him, I wouldn't've destroyed the _Astral Queen_. Killed the crew along with the fraking bastard, maybe, but I would have kept the ship intact."

He had her there.

While three much larger prison ships were in the fleet the CCE brought with them, (none of them were full, having dropped off their 'passengers' on a mining asteroid just before the attacks) they still needed every ship.

"Well, you've got two bonuses: we now have beam weaponry and you don't have to deal with attacks on you and your office. But I'm kidding myself: you want me to pay you and the civies back somehow."

He looked her in the eye, suddenly losing the joking tone he had been using the whole time and reminding the President that she was dealing with a madman in a military uniform.

"You tell me what you want from the CCE, and I'll provide it, to a point. And before you ask, the Articles of Colonization prevent you from charging Captain Akagi with launching a premeditated attack on the _Astral Queen_."

Roslin narrowed her eyes.

"The _Athena_ destroyed the _Astral Queen_ and killed 1510 people in the process."

She pointed at the whiteboard behind her.

The survivor count was 1595487, and did not count the destruction of the _Astral Queen_ and the death of everyone on it.

"While I used to be a schoolteacher, I hate math, Colonel. You want to repay the Fleet? Fine. I want every ship in the Fleet given a complete refit. New FTL drives, better computers and life support systems, the whole works."

The Colonel's seriously face finally broke with a smile.

"Ma'am, that's not a punishment. This is what we do for a living."

"Second, you are going to show me and Admiral Adama exactly what you are doing on the _Athena_."

He pursed his lips.

"Again, not a punishment: it's your Presidential right. However, before you take even one step onto one of my ships, you must make an oath to tell no one of what you see."

Roslin held her ground.

"I think not."

He put a CCE-issue M29 magnum in her face.

"Then we are going to need a new President."

Before he could pull the trigger, the gun was taken out of his loose (for him) grip by Admiral Adama, who had arrived only a moment before.

"Colonel, you know better then that."

He looked at Roslin.

"Madam President, you don't have a choice. Anyone who goes to a CCE ship and doesn't join it has to sign a non-confidentiality order. No exceptions, not even the President."

She looked at the man who just saved her life, thanking him silently.

"And how do you know this?"

Adama sat down and gave the magnum back to the Colonel, who holstered the weapon.

"What I am about to tell you does not leave this room, Madam President."

Zarek, who I have HATED since the moment he appeared, is now dead.

And it was an accident. They DO happen.

What Adama is telling Roslin at the end is seen in the Season 3 episode Hero, where we see the _Valkyrie_ for the first time.

If you're a _Gundam_ fan that hasn't watched _BSG_, then I suggest you watch the show starting with the miniseries and watch it from start to finish.

I refuse to spoil the latter two seasons, because we're not getting to them in this version.

The reason is simple: the _Eternal_ has hard drives from the three Heavy Raiders that rammed into her, and those hard drives have data that will eventually allow them to jump to _GSD_ Earth.

Colonial Corps of Engineers fleet

90 x _Hermes_-Class police/AA frigates

75 x _Spitfire_-Class light cruisers

60 x _Hydra_-Class heavy cruisers

55 x _Orion_-Class Pocket Battlestars

40 x _Valkyrie_-Class Battlestars

25 x _Galactica_-Class Battlestars

20 x _Mercury_-Class Battlestars

10 x _Odysseus_-Class heavy transports (subtype of the _Mercury_-Class only armed with AA guns, but can carry 9000 men and women plus enough food and water to supply a BSG for 10 years)

5 x _Demeter_-Class heavy agricultural ships (picture a combination of the agro ship with domes the size of _Cloud Nine's_ atmo dome. This allows them to raise livestock in space)

1 x _Athena_-Class Battlestar

10 x _Zeus_-Class Battlestar Dreadnoughts

1 x _Vulcan_-Class spacecraft construction/repair ship*

1 x _Ishimura_-Class asteroid mining ship*

1 x _Cortez_-Class tylium mining and refinery ship*

3 x _Artemis_-Class Mobile Shipyards (Watched Razor? Then picture Scorpion Fleet Shipyard, but a LOT bigger, fit with engines and turrets mounting anti-ship and anti-fighter weapons)

(asterisk (meaning this bloody thing: *) means: sub-type of _Zeus_-Class Battlestar Dreadnought)

Colonel Fleet survivors

6 x _Hermes_-Class police/AA frigates

2 x _Hydra_-Class heavy cruisers

6 x _Orion_-Class Pocket Battlestars

5 x _Valkyrie_-Class Battlestars (includes _Valkyrie_)

4 x _Galactica_-Class Battlestars

4 x _Mercury_-Class Battlestars

3 x _Odysseus_-Class heavy transports

1 x _Prometheus_-Class ultra-heavy transport (only _Zeus_-Class BSD sub-type to reach Fleet service before the Fall: carries over 150000 enlisted men, 1500 officers and 6000 Marines; only armed with AAA weapons)

You want gun? I'll give you gun. And that's not including the Avalonia Task Force, which has the OTHER HALF of the CCE.

How can they have that many ships, you ask?

Asteroid mining. And a LOT of it.

Next Time on _THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition_: Roslin and Adama board the _Athena_, discovering a truth hidden from the Colonial public for 45 years while the Colonel begins his new project.

Ja Ne!


	11. Chapter 10: Dark Secrets

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 10: Dark Secrets/Playing Catchup

Roslin signed the papers without hesitation after hearing Adama's story.

The Admiralty had sent him on a mission to get any and all intel on the Cylons a year or so back, and his pilot, Daniel Novacek, was shot down by the _Valkyrie_ in order to cover everything up when someone attacked and damaged his craft.

The only reason Colonel Pinkerton hadn't left the meeting?

He provided the stealth ship for that FUBAR of a mission.

"Alright, Colonel. You win."

The CCE head stood up.

"The Raptor's waiting, Madam President. After you."

Roslin stood up, then walked toward the airlock and the CCE Raptor.

Battlestar _Athena_: Starboard Flight Pod

"_Raptor 597A, you are cleared for hands on landing. Call the ball_."

"Roger, _Athena_: I have the ball."

The CCE Raptor landed on the lift, and down it went into the hanger bay.

"Be advised: President Roslin is on board." The Raptor entered the airlock and it repressurized, allowing them access.

Watching from the co-pilot's seat, Roslin's eyes widened in horror as the hatch opened. Working alongside the knuckledraggers were Model 0005 Cylon Centurions.

"Colonel."

"I know. Every CCE ship has at least 50 0005s on board at all times. It was part of the Cimtar Accords: any Cylon that wished to stay behind could only do so if they stayed with the Colonial Corps of Engineers. We have been working side-by-side, as it should have been, since the end of the War."

The Raptor came to a stop, and the Colonel got out of his seat, opening the hatch and getting out. "Officer on the deck!"

Human and Cylon saluted the Colonel as his feet hit the deck of his flagship.

"Officers and crew of BSG-89 _Athena_, I present President Laura Roslin and Fleet Admiral William Adama!"

At that moment, Adama and Roslin stepped out of the Raptor.

Roslin was quaking in fear.

Who wouldn't?

She was standing in front of at least 20 Centurions.

Adama held her hand, showing no fear, because he was not afraid of the Centurions before him.

One Cylon walked toward the Admiral, its' red eye moving side to side before focusing on the Fleet Admiral and extending its' left hand.

"Admiral Adama. It is agreeable to meet you once more."

Adama shook the Cylon's hand with his own.

"It's good to see you all again."

The Cylon let go, and Adama looked at the men, women and machines on deck.

"As you were, people!"

The CCE personnel dropped the salute and returned to their duties.

The Colonel kept smiling at Roslin's expression.

"You look fraking terrified."

She looked back at him.

"Colonel, those are CYLONS."

He shrugged, honestly not caring.

"So? The 0005s have worked with us for almost 50 years and we'll keep working alongside them until the end of time. Besides, you saw Admiral Adama. He actually befriended one or two the last time he was here. Took a while to warm up to them, but he got used to them."

He walked off.

She looked at Adama.

"Bill, was he-"

"He was. Every Cylon in the CCE has identifying marks on them. It took me over a month to figure out which was which, but I finally did it."

They followed the Colonel deep into the Battlestar to its' CIC.

It was more like the CIC in a _Galactica_-Class Battlestar, but more modern.

"Hicks!"

The Colonel snarled, looking for someone.

"HICKS!"

He narrowed his eyes before walking to the plotting table and picking up a phone.

"Attention, Captain Hicks: this is the Colonel. Get your lazy ass to CIC RFN before I take your collection of-"

A woman ran into CIC. "Here, sir!"

Her red hair was unkempt, her purple eyes had red rims around them and her uniform jacket was undone.

The Colonel groaned.

"Admiral, I believe you remember Captain Hicks."

The Old Man's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"All too well."

He turned to Roslin.

"Madam President, this is Captain Rosa Hicks, the Athena's XO and head designer of Project Magi."

He looked at the Captain with narrowed blue eyes.

"And the biggest pervert in the Colonial Fleet, regular or otherwise."

"Can't help it, sir."

"Captain, you and Ellen Tigh could compete for the title of the one who could bed every man in the Colonies and you would win, hands down."

Roslin, now getting over her shock of seeing Cylons working with humans for the first time in years, looked at the Colonel.

He sighed.

"While her...personal issues drive me and everyone else to drink, she is the best weapons designer in the CCE other then myself and Captain Akagi, who accidentally destroyed the _Astral Queen_. She will be taking you on your tour of the ship: I have better things to do then play tour guide."

He left CIC.

Both turned to look at Hicks, who had buttoned up her uniform and smoothed over her hair.

"Well, since Admiral Adama's already gone over the tour, I guess he can help you with anything that confuses you?"

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

Three sets of hard drives sat in front of Felix Gaeta. Three sets of very annoying Cylon hard drives sat in front of _Galactica's_ OOD.

He kept looking at them, and his reflection looked back, as if mocking him.

While this was very amusing for _Galactica's_ CIC staff, it was pissing off Colonel Tigh.

"Lieutenant, what the _hell_ are you doing?"

Gaeta looked at Tigh briefly.

"I am trying to figure out how to install these into our navigational computer."

"And why the frak would you do that?"

Gaeta finally broke his staring contest with the drives.

"Because these were taken from Heavy Raiders that rammed the _Eternal_. Colonel Pinkerton-"

Tigh scoffed at the 'Colonel'.

"Thinks there's FTL data on them."

"Data that'll lead us to the Cylons."

"No. To Earth. Problem is, I can't figure out how to do it: they aren't compatible with our computers."

At that moment, something in CIC shorted out.

"And that's been happening over the past three days, ever since we purged our systems of the Cylon virus."

Tigh lightly snarled.

"Fraking thing's got more comebacks then Pinkerton does." (AN: Or Motley Crue, for that matter)

Tigh looked at Gaeta.

"Frak the drives. Give 'em to Pinkerton. He'll know what to do. Fix this."

"Sir, I don't have a clue where to start."

"Then get Baltar in here. He's supposed to be our Cylon expert: let him prove it!"

Gaeta picked up the phone, paging shipwide for Baltar get to CIC while Tigh walked toward his quarters for a stiff drink.

The business with the reporter, Diana Biers, and the attempt on his life for the incident on the _Gideon_ left him in need of enough alcohol to drown a small child.

Or two.

Battlestar _Athena_: Doctor Akagi's Laboratory

Ritsuko didn't hear them come in, being too focused on blueprints taken from the _Archangel's_ database given to her by Colonel Pinkerton.

"Captain!"

Ritsuko jumped, hitting her head off of a low hanging pipe.

"AH!"

She looked at the offender, then realized who Hicks was escorting.

She quickly scrambled to her feet and saluted.

"Madam President, Admiral Adama! I wasn't-"

"Calm down, Captain. At ease."

The blonde (although they could clearly tell it was a dye-job) put her hands to her sides.

"What exactly are you doing?"

The floor was covered with the blueprints for the _Galactica_-Class Battlestar and an assortment of laptop computers.

Adama had an idea as to what the Colonel had ordered her to do, but would wait until he told him exactly.

"Why were you under a pipe?"

She blinked, then slowly looked at Adama.

"Lost a pen. I was trying to get it back."

Roslin then asked the million cubit question.

"Is everyone in the CCE crazy?"

Adama thought about it for a minute.

"To some extent. I've learned that the higher the person is in the chain of command, the crazier they are."

A phone near the hatch rang, and Hicks went to answer it.

"Hicks."

She looked at Adama.

"Sir, it's Colonel Tigh: he needs to speak with you."

He looked at Roslin.

"So much for the tour."

He walked over and took the phone from Hick's hand.

"Adama."

"_Bill, we've got a problem on _Galactica_. Remember when you were shot_?"

Adama's hand subconsciously touched the two bullet wounds.

"I remember."

"_We had to network the computers to find the Fleet_-"

"They got infected by a virus."

"_Worse. We killed it, but Baltar and Gaeta say that it's 'mutated' into a Logic Bomb. Fraking thing nearly killed three of our pilots_."

Adama paled.

"Frak."

He turned to Hicks.

"Dock with _Galactica_. NOW."

The perverted woman ran toward CIC.

"Is there any way to kill it?"

"Just one. And I don't think you're doing to like it at all, Bill."

Battlestar _Galactica_: Port Flight Pod

While reserve and regular pilots were transferring to _Galactica_ to pick up the slack, Lunamaria Hawke was still stationed on the beloved Bucket, as they had nicknamed the old, but still mighty, Battlestar.

And she was helping Chief Tyrol with his project: a new type of fighter.

Tigh had given them DDG-62 engines from one of the civilian ships, and everyone was helping finish it up.

It was almost finished.

The alarms then went off, and Luna rushed to a Viper rather then to the starboard pod and the Freedom. The Mk VII left the tube as she as she was strapped in.

"_All Vipers, this is _Minerva_. As _Galactica_ is compromised, we will direct you to the target. Large formation of Cylon craft, including Heavy Raiders, inbound. Intercept enemy craft and engage_."

Every Colonial military ship launched every Viper they had while the _Archangel_ launched out the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice, the Akatsuki, four of her Murasames and two Windams. The _Minerva_ launched out the Destiny, Savior and all of her Windams while the _Eternal_ launched out the four GAT-X units.

The number of Raiders, normal and heavy, soon entered view.

"Good God."

There were thousands of them, if not tens of thousands.

Hell, it could've been one hundred thousand for all Luna knew.

Even the three nuclear powered Gundams, with their Full Burst Attack Mode firing nonstop, couldn't stop them all.

It was 6000 Vipers and 20 Mobile Suits versus 100000 Raiders.

"The Cylons really want _Galactica_ destroyed."

The Raiders held position 200 kilometers from _Galactica_, and thus began the Mexican Standoff of Luna's short life.

"_Gods, what are they doing_?"

Thousands of red eyes pulsed back and forth, unnerving them all.

At that moment, just as Luna prepared to jump into the fire, the Raiders started tumbling in space. "What the f-"

"_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_!" A Mk III, fit with 40mm gunpods, charged in and opened fire. Under the canopy was the pilot's name, rank and callsign: Col. Ronald Pinkerton, 'Psycho'. "_Apollo, this is _Galactica_: Kill the bastards_!"

Luna chuckled.

"And thus begins the Great Cylon Turkey Shoot."

The Viper pilots tore into the Cylons like wolves on a carcass, scoring at least 15 kills each in the first minute alone.

Luna spun, sped and fired all of her cannon rounds into the Raider formation, destroying over 100 Cylon fighters by the time she ran out of ammo.

"_WHOO_!"

"_Frak me, I'm out of ammo_!"

"_Same_ _here_!"

"_HAHAHAHAHA_!"

The only one that still had ammo was the Colonel, who had run out of 30mm rounds, but still had his 40s.

"_All Vipers, get the frak out of there! Mobile Suits, take out the rest_!"

The Colonials quickly got the hell out of there and the Mobile Suits opened fire with beam rifles, railguns and just about everything in between.

"_Nice work, Luna! It's like you were the Viper_!"

The Coordinator smirked.

"Hibu."

Apollo looked at her.

"_Huh_?"

"You guys've been looking for a callsign for me since I transferred, and Hibu is perfect. It's a pit viper from Japan."

She barrel-rolled the Mk VII four times, taking point as _Galactica's_ Vipers returned to their home.

And she had a new callsign, to boot.

It was a good day, the redhead decided, as her Viper touched the port flight pod deck.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Starboard Flight Pod: 3 hours later

Apollo and Luna (flying a Mk II and her Mk VII, respectively) launched from the starboard pod's catapult for the first time.

The Colonel said something about a 'duel testing session', but they didn't have a clue what he meant: this was the Blackbird's (Luna picked the name, as her callsign was also the nickname for a famous reconnaissance craft called the SR-71 Blackbird) first flight.

"_HAHAHAHA_!"

They then noticed a Murasume coming at them from above.

It entered formation with them, and Luna noticed the model number written on the side: CDF-X01.

She gaped when she saw that it was modified so extensively that it wasn't a Murasume anymore: it was using VSPA (she didn't want to know where he got the data on THAT) and had the Aile Striker fit to it.

"_That's right, bitches! Say hello to the first Colonial Mobile Suit_!"

The MS transformed, showing its' changes.

The head was more like the Strike's, and also contained a pair of 75mm cannons.

The Murasame's shield (also the nose) now had a pair of beam sabers inside it (AN: I liked the Sinanju's shield. Fuck you) and also had a second beam rifle on the underside.

"_CDF-X01 Dart, ready for duty_!"

And this was why he was considered insane.

He was downright giddy at the weirdest times, depressed during happy times, etc, etc.

The Dart transformed back into MA mode and flew under the Vipers just as Starbuck pulled her disappearing act.

She reappeared nose to nose with Apollo's Mk II, making the Coordinator smile. She then felt something hit her fighter.

She had an idea.

She ascended slightly, then shoved the fighter downwards.

The result?

"_YOU FRAKING_-"

She chuckled as the Colonel, who had ejected from his MS by accident and hit her Viper, (AN: Remind you of anything?) impacted with the Dart once more.

Luna turned her Viper back toward her home, reminding herself that she was supposed to land on the starboard pod now.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Port Flight Pod, 4 hours later

Tyrol KNEW he shouldn't've handed the Blackbird over to the Colonel.

But no, the man was trustworthy.

"Chief Tyrol?" He turned to face the President.

"Madam President?"

"I was told that your fighter was here."

"IT IS! BUT CAN YOU FIND IT?!"

Both tensed at the sound of Colonel Pinkerton's disembodied voice.

"Great, he's mastered not being here and still talking."

"I'm insulted!"

Roslin had enough.

"Colonel, where are you?"

Suddenly the air WARPED and the Blackbird appeared, with the Lord of Insanity in the cockpit, grinning like a loon.

"What the-"

"Mirage Colloid, bitch! HAHAHA!"

He opened the canopy and got out of the fighter.

"I had extra time on my hands and found the formula for the shit in the _Archangel's_ database. Think of it, Chief: the ultimate stealth craft."

He would be, if it weren't for the unholy smile on the Colonel's face.

"I've gotta go: the _Vulcan's_ building parts for the pre-production Darts, and I've got to make sure they've got the right blueprints."

The Colonel left, practically skipping.

President and Chief shared a look, then the higher ranking one left, seeing as while she had seen the fighter, they still needed to do the whole dedication ceremony, and the Colonel ruined the timing.

Still, a stealth fighter that couldn't be seen, visually or otherwise?

Hello, wet dreams.

That's a reference to the original, ORIGINAL version that I wrote before, but rewrote heavily. Another reminder that I REALLY sucked back then.

And he had the resources this time, plus the time to make the stuff.

Ultimate stealth craft? Not a far cry from the truth, seeing as the Blackbird can't be seen on DRADIS, and with MC, you can't see it period.

Next Time on _THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition_: Enter the Winged Horse, the Battlestar _Pegasus_!

Ja Ne!


	12. Chapter 11: Pegasus

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 11: _Pegasus_/Civil War

It had been an eventful week, or at least Kira thought it was.

The CCE were repairing and refitting the civilians (from what he had been told, it was to make up for the massive screw up that resulted in the destruction of the _Astral Queen_, although Kira really didn't mind, as none of them liked Zarek or his cronies) and the Colonials were building their first Mobile Suits, which were developed from the Murasume, the Savior and the Strike Rouge: the frame was based off the Murasume, the VPSA came from the Savior and the Dart was able to mount Striker Packs, just like the Strike Rouge.

The VPSA was another thing that had the Ultimate Coordinator puzzled.

Due to power issues, most MSs didn't use it.

The Dart, however used what the Colonel called a ultracompact 'near-nuclear' battery.

They were the emergency power sources on every Battlestar class post-war, but the CCE had far too many to find a use for.

'Too much supply, not enough demand', so said Captain Akagi.

They were the same size and shape as the batteries used in Mobile Suits, but they were too powerful to be put in regular units, as the ZAKU Phantom proved about two days after the CCE joined them. It was useless: every circuit was fried.

The Murasume was a better choice, but to be safe, they got the data to make Variable Phase Shift Armor and applied it to the MS, along with hardpoints for Striker Packs.

More power-hungry equipment was also installed, but the fucking battery just wouldn't run out!

It took 9 hours for the Major to drain it, and that was using the Launcher Pack, which was the most energy hungry pack of them all thanks to the Agni Multiphase Cannon!

But it still had a weakness: it was still battery-operated, and thus still needed to be recharged.

The Colonel was trying to reverse engineer an N-Jammer Canceler so he could build a more advanced prototype based on data from the Strike Freedom, Destiny and the Dart.

The scary part was, he was succeeding: he took the N-Jammer on _Galactica_ apart, found out what each part did and built another one that did the exact opposite.

Took two days, but that proved his crazy genius.

Good thing he was on their side.

Speaking of Mobile Suits, Kira had just arrived in _Galactica's_ Starboard Flight Pod, where the 45-year old warship launched and recovered her machines.

At the moment, the ship was inside the _Vulcan's_ massive port flight pod, which, rather then launching and recovering Vipers and other craft, was used to dock with smaller ships.

This was so the 10 newly built and tuned pre-production CDF-01 Darts could be transferred to the Battlestar.

They, along with the ZAKU Warrior, the two Impulse units, the Proto-Dart (the CCE's nickname for the prototype) and the Freedom, would make up _Galactica's_ MS compliment.

The reason he was on board _Galactica_?

Shipyard One was refitting the _Archangel_. While they saluted the joint attempt at mounting the FTL drive to the assault carrier, they would do a much better job. For that reason alone, he, Athrun and every other MS pilot from on the _Archangel_ were transferred to Galactica until the refit was complete. Then the alarms blared.

"_Action stations, Action Stations. Set Condition One throughout the ship. This is not a drill. Repeat: Action Stations, Action Stations_-"

Kira ran down to the lift that took him to the zero-G hanger where the Strike Freedom, her older sister unit and the Infinite Justice were waiting.

"What is it?"

Luna, who was zipping up her flight suit, looked at her superior.

"Looks like a single Baseship, CBDR. Apollo and Kat are first responders; we're next out."

"_CDF-X01 Dart, heading out_!"

Luna hopped into the Freedom's cockpit, then ascended the lift into the vacuum. Athrun and Kira soon followed.

"_Lunamaria Hawke, Freedom, heading out_!"

Kira locked onto the second catapult just as the Freedom launched out.

"Kira Yamato, Strike Freedom, launching!"

The newer Gundam was launched into the vacuum, following the Freedom and Proto-Dart.

"_Athrun Zala, Justice, launching_!"

The red Gundam joined the rest, entering a loose finger four formation with the Colonel's Proto-Dart leading them.

They soon caught up to Apollo and Kat's Mk IIs.

"_Wait a tick: I'm picking up a Colonial-Oh, HELL no_."

Luna's face appeared on a comm window.

"Why would the Colonel-"

Then they heard a transmission coming from the unknown.

"_This is the Battlestar _Pegasus _to the ship claiming to be _Galactica. _Please respond_."

"Oh."

They knew of his...history with Admiral Helena Cain, and _Pegasus_ was Cain's ship.

Then the ship entered visual range.

Kira quickly noted that it was a _Mercury_-Class Battlestar, and she was launching Vipers.

"That's not good."

The Colonel, still wearing a standard Colonial flight suit, appeared in another comm window.

"_Relax. We not only outgun them, we all use Colonial IFF. Besides, if they start shooting, I am well within my rights_-"

At that moment, bullets impacted the Proto-Dart's frame.

"THAT'S IT! YOU DIE! RIGHT NOW!"

The window closed and the prototype Colonial MS transformed.

"_All Colonial fighters and Mobile Suits, stand down! All craft are friendly_!"

"_Like hell, Bill! They shot at me_!"

"_Colonel, get your ass back to _Galactica_ before I MAKE you_!"

The Colonel snarled over the radio, but transformed back into MA mode and flew back toward the flagship.

"Might as well follow him. While I think we can survive a few hits from one of their main guns, I'm not willing to test that."

The Freedom spun and turned back toward _Galactica_.

Battlestar _Galactica_: Starboard Flight Pod, 45 minutes later

Three Honor Guard Vipers (one of each mark) escorted Cain's Raptor onto the flagship of the Fleet. "Pegasus _Raptor 861_, Galactica. _Skids down, mag secure. Welcome aboard, Admiral_."

The Raptor landed on the lift just as the two Impulse units launched on a training flight.

Helena Cain was extremely nervous.

While she normally would have outranked Adama, with Pinkerton handing over the 10 _Zeus_-Class BSDs and the rest of the regular Fleet ships having no one over the rank of Colonel, he now vastly outranked her.

And he was a friend of the CCE head.

That would make pissing off William Adama a Very Bad Idea, as Pinkerton still had the _Athena_, and if he managed to get those plasma cannons online, _Pegasus_ would be little more then molten metal.

The lift took them into the airlock, then it shut and repressurized.

The hatch opened and the Raptor entered the hanger.

Knuckledraggers and pilots alike stood at attention with Fleet Admiral Adama at the head.

"Time to face the music."

The Raptor stopped and the hatch opened, allowing Cain, Fisk and three Marines to get out of the Raptor.

Standing at Adama's right, smirking, was Colonel Ronald Pinkerton.

On his left, two women in different white uniforms.

Cain was now VERY confused, but saluted Adama rather then question it. Adama returned the salute. "Admiral Cain, welcome aboard _Galactica_."

"Congratulations on your promotion, Admiral Adama. Looks like I have to take my orders from you now."

Adama looked between Pinkerton and Cain.

"My first order is for you to stop being a pain in the Colonel's ass. The Colonial Corps of Engineers only falls under the command of two people: the Fleet Admiral and the President of the Colonies. You are neither."

Cain nodded.

"Well, that I can do."

She looked at the two women.

"And these two are?"

The blonde extended her hand.

"Captain Talia Gladys, LHM-BB-01 _Minerva_."

Cain shook it.

The brown haired woman extended hers next.

"Captain Murrue Ramius, LCAM-X01A _Archangel_."

Cain shook Ramius' hand as well.

Another woman, this time wearing a civilian outfit, walked over.

"And may I introduce the President of the Colonies, Laura Roslin."

That name rang in Cain's ears.

She was the Secretary of Education.

"Madam President."

"Admiral Cain. I have heard much about you. Mostly from Colonel Pinkerton, but I believe not all of his stories are true."

The Colonel snorted, but said nothing.

"Very well. I'd like to know just what the hell's been going on."

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC

While Cain was busy briefing the Fleet Admiral, (and was soon to be chewed out for torturing a Cylon prisoner by both Adama and Roslin) the Colonel had decided to visit CIC and help Gaeta with his Earth jump calculations.

He even brought a specially built computer for the job.

"Mr. Gaeta."

He hefted the massive full tower computer into CIC and placed in down beside the man's station.

"I heard you were having trouble with the Cylon hard drives. I am here to help."

Gaeta blinked.

"Right."

He handed the drive sets over to the Colonel, who quickly opened up the computer casing and installed the drives within two minutes.

"Alright, setting up the connections."

After a minute of hooking the computer into the power grid and to one of the screens, he turned it on.

"How does it feel to be making history, Mr. Gaeta?"

Gaeta looked at the Colonel.

"Sir?"

"Accessing FTL jump data."

He turned to the OOD.

"We are going to be the first Colonials to see Earth since the 13th Tribe arrived there. That's history, Mr. Gaeta. And we are going to get there."

He smiled and laughed as he found the second to last FTL jump coordinates.

Gaeta quickly wrote down the coordinates, but the Colonel shook his head.

"Kid, you have a lot to learn about FTL jump plotting."

He took the paper from him just as he finished.

"A 12-digit number gives us the general location, but it's not exactly accurate enough to keep us from jumping into a star. What we need to do it up the number count."

Gaeta walked up behind him.

"How many?"

The Colonel tapped his closed fist on the plotting table 5 times.

"25? Sir, the computers can't handle that."

He smirked and pointed at the computer with the Cylon drives in it.

"That one can. What you and I need to do is hook it up to the FTL computers and rewrite the software so we can jump to Earth."

He grinned insanely.

"Exciting times, Mr. Gaeta!"

Both men quickly got to work on the new FTL program.

Battlestar _Pegasus_: Cain's office

While Adama was NOT happy with Cain, he needed every flag officer he could get.

He also needed to make the Cylons back off, and that was where the recon photos from Pegasus came in.

"Two baseships, half a dozen support ships and one large vessel we can't identify are in the fleet following Galactica."

Adama pulled out a sheet given to him by Captain Hicks which had every known Cylon ship encountered by the CCE and found the right silhouette.

"It's called a Resurrection Ship."

Cain looked at Adama.

"Sir?"

"CCE ran recon missions on the Cylons, interrogated the very few organic models that they got their hands on. They gave the CCE the information on the Cylon fleet."

"That's another thing I want to know. Why didn't the CCE get into the fight?"

Adama looked at Cain.

"The CCE command staff are scientists, not soldiers. Almost no military training. It interferes with their work, so says the Colonel."

Cain scoffed.

"Colonel Pinkerton has been in the Colonial Fleet since its' creation!"

Adama shook his head.

"And look where it's gotten him. Guilt over destroying his 'children', the 0005 Centurions, during the war drove him insane. Whatever Zeus Avalonia did to him 20 years ago screwed him up even more. His daughter Nova made it worse. He's only improved because he's been on _Galactica_ for a while. And-"

The alarms went off.

"Frak."

The phone rang, and Adama picked it up before Cain could.

"SitRep."

"_Picking up three Cylon Baseships, Admiral. None of them are actually doing anything, though_." Adama blinked.

"Redirect the CAP. I want to know what the hell is going on."

"Aye, sir."

Fleet CAP

The Freedom, four Vipers and one of the new Darts flew toward the three Baseships.

Leading the formation was Luna in the Freedom.

"_Galactica_, Hibu: the Baseships have taken heavy damage."

"_Hibu, Psycho: what kind of damage_?"

Luna scoffed.

"As in someone shot at them!"

"_With guns or missiles_?"

She studied the hull, noting the holes weren't uniform.

"Missiles, I think."

"_Not Colonial, then: we don't use missiles that much_."

Suddenly, they heard a voice no one on _Galactica_ wanted to hear again.

"Galactica, _Boomer_:_ can you hear me_?"

Luna then flipped a switch, engaging the multi-targeting system.

Boomer had just come back, right after she tried killing the Old Man?

Fuck THAT.

"Boomer, give me one good FUCKING reason not to fire!"

The Dart transformed, pointing the Agni cannon at the Baseship while the Vipers fell back.

At that moment, the Proto-Dart, equipped this time with the Sword Striker, arrived, anti-ship sword drawn with a beam rifle in the left hand.

"_I'll have to agree with Luna, Boomer. You have 10 seconds to give us one good reason to hold our fire_!"

"_That you, Major_?"

"_9, and it's Colonel now. 5_-"

"_I've got intel you're going to want to see, Colonel. And I need to give to you in person_."

The sound of the Colonel punching and shattering one of the cockpit screens was heard over the radio.

"_Fine. We'll escort you in. Any funny business, we kill you and your Baseships. And don't think we can't! I know those things can't even launch a single Raider_!"

Luna wondered what he meant, then saw the damage to the launch racks.

The Raiders were stuck.

That did not mean that that it couldn't launch a Heavy Raider or Raptor, though.

Even so, they still didn't stand a chance in hell.

After five minutes, a Raptor left the lead Baseship, and the Vipers entered escort formation around it. _"Hibu, Psycho: Keep an eye on those Baseships. Weapons hot, but don't fire unless provoked_." "Colonel, BOOMER provokes me. She fucking shot the Old Man!"

"_And while I am VERY tempted to destroy the Raptor she's on, Luna, I am not going to do that just yet._" "Later?"

"_Later_. Eternal, _Psycho: requesting Mobile Suit detachment to support Ensign Hawke_."

"_Copy that. MS Team Alpha is inbound_."

"The Extendeds? Fucking great."

"_You want support? Deal with them. And DON'T use their block words! We can't even say 'die' on _Galactica_ now thanks to Stella freaking out_!"

Battlestar _Galactica_: Conference Room

"Why exactly are we here?"

Shinn, Kira, Athrun and Cagalli stood at the far end of the room.

"Simple. You are to keep us from killing our...guest."

The Colonel was referring to himself, Adama, Tigh, Roslin, Talia and Murrue, who were sitting down.

"There's twelve of you and four of us."

"And all of you are armed while we are not."

"You're bulletproof."

The Colonel smiled.

"And that is why I have-"

He held up a half-empty bottle of ambrosia.

"This. Pinkerton Brew Ambrosia: 1574 proof, 89% alcohol. It's the only thing guaranteed to keep me from losing what little sanity I have left."

All four looked at the Colonel, then at the rest of the Colonials.

"Don't ask."

"It's better not to know."

Shinn looked at the Colonel.

"Did Graystone Industries replace your LIVER, too?"

"Hell, no. Wouldn't be as effective."

Before the four Terrans could recover, Boomer, wearing a Colonial uniform sans rank insignia, walked into the room.

"Great, the bitch is mocking us."

Boomer sighed.

"If you want to kill me, can you wait until I'm done?"

The Colonel started drinking his bottle, downing half of the remaining booze, then placed the bottle on one of the tables.

"What is it?"

She sighed.

"About a month ago, everything started going to hell for the Cylons. Cracks in the foundation, so to speak."

Roslin blinked.

"Are you telling us that the Cylons are having their own civil war?"

Boomer nodded.

"That's right. The Ones, the oldest model, kept saying humanity should be destroyed. The Fours and Fives, Simons and Dorals, agreed, but the Twos, Threes, Sixes and Eights-"

"Leoben, Biers, Godfrey and your model-"

"Didn't agree. All hell broke loose, and everyone started shooting at one another."

The Colonel looked at her closely.

"She's telling the truth."

Tigh and Roslin looked at him.

"And how the hell would you know?"

Adama answered for him.

"The 0005s were programmed never to lie to him. That transferred over to the organic models."

Talia voiced a single question.

"Why should we care? Let the Cylons kill one another while we get to Earth and solve our own problems."

Boomer looked at her.

"Naïve thinking, Captain Gladys. The Cylons use resurrection technology, and they'll be stuck in this cycle for a VERY long time. Or at least until Cavil boxes the later models."

Tigh's eyes widened.

"Cavil?! As in the priest?!"

Boomer nodded.

"Yeah, as in the priest."

The Colonel got out of his chair.

"Cagalli, your weapon."

"Colonel-"

"I am dealing with Cavil. Your weapon, Chief Representative."

Cagalli handed him the USP .45 and he quickly ran out.

"Anything else?" Boomer looked at Adama.

"Yeah. You want the civil war to mean something to the Cylons? You have to take out this."

She gave him a photo of a massive station.

"It's called the Hub. Colonel Pinkerton's told you all about the Resurrection Ships. This thing controls them. Blow it up, you end resurrection for good."

"And death would be permanent."

Roslin grew a predatory smirk on her face.

"We blow the Hub before we go to Earth. Then you and the rest of the Cylons can go kill each other off."

Boomer looked at Roslin.

"Not that simple. Cavil's almost won the war: we've only got a few Baseships left. He's boxed every Cylon that's resurrected. The Baseships we've got are mostly manned by Centurions."

"Ah, the wonders of Cylon technology."

Everyone turned to see the Colonel walk back in, dragging an old man behind him.

"Didn't even bother running."

He threw Cavil to the ground.

"Knew there was SOMETHING wrong with him, but being a Cylon? That's new."

Cavil looked at the Colonel, then at Boomer.

"Fraking traitor."

"Same could be said for you, Cavil."

The Colonel put the USP .45 to the back of Cavil's head.

"Cylons killing their own kind? Somehow, I'm not surprised. Looks like I poured more humanity into the 0005s' programming then I thought."

Cavil looked disgusted and insulted.

"Let that be your last thought."

He fired, spraying Cavil's brains all over the deck.

"What's the plan, Admiral?"

He looked at Boomer.

"We blow the Hub. After that, we go our separate ways. For good, this time."

Shinn pointed out the one flaw in the plan.

"If this thing's so important, wouldn't it have an FTL drive? We don't know where it is."

Boomer looked at Shinn.

"We have something that does. It's a little...screwy, but if you want the Hub destroyed, it's our only hope."

The Colonel chuckled.

"The only being in the universe that's crazier then I am. And you've got hundreds of the fraking things."

Season 4 storyline in Season 2? Fraking A.

The Cavils want humanity destroyed, but the rest of the Cylons (2s, 3s, 6s and 8s) just want to get the hell out of there and leave the humans alone, as they've made contact with Earth via the _Archangel_, _Minerva_ and _Eternal_. And they have superior firepower.

Cavil won't take it, so cue him bringing every Baseship in existence back online and refitting them with Hybrids. (we saw some of this during the firefight over Kobol)

The slaughter during Flight of the Phoenix was the last straw for the 'leave them alone' group.

Cavil started a shooting war to shut them up. They fought back, but Cavil has the refit War-era Baseships, meaning he's got numbers.

Same result, different reason and time.

Next Time on _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: The Colonials and rebel Cylons take out the Resurrection Hub, and _Galactica_ makes a blind jump during the aftermath of the battle.

Ja Ne!


	13. Chapter 12: Capped Hub

To Hell and Back: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 12: Capped Hub/Blind Jump

"Cylon intel indicates that the Hub is equipped-"

The Colonel pointed at a tower-like structure on top of the station.

"With a single FTL drive. A few missiles will disable it, but I would rather make sure it could never jump again."

"Meaning?"

The CCE head looked at Murrue.

"Oh, HELL no."

"One burst from the Gottfrieds will destroy the FTL drive. Unlike _Galactica_ or the Baseships, it has no armor to punch through."

The five highest ranking military commanders in the Fleet (those being Adama, Cain, Pinkerton, Ramius and Gladys) were studying the blueprints for the Resurrection Hub.

"Still going to be a royal bitch to take out with the Lohengrin."

Adama shook his head.

"I'm loading four of our Vipers with nukes. The Cylons know about the positron cannons, and I'm not risking them getting destroyed."

The captain of the _Archangel_ sighed.

"Which ship is taking out the Hub's FTL?"

"One of Boomer's Baseships will jump in, hanger doors open. Inside it will be the _Archangel_: the _Minerva's_ too long and it won't fit." (AN: The central axis of a Baseship is big enough to fit the _Archangel_: believe me, I checked)

Murrue sighed. "And they won't open fire?"

"Unlike us, the Cylons have never had a civil war. Both sides still use the same IFF. They won't realize until you've blown up the FTL drive."

Talia summed up the plan.

"Take out the FTL, jump in _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_, kill everything in our way, then nuke the Hub and jump the hell out."

Cain smiled.

"I like it."

The Colonel scoffed.

"Cain, you like anything involving sating your urge for revenge. You do realize that we are not taking the fight to the Cylons. This will be the last battle in both wars."

Adama looked at both.

"That's oversimplifying it, Colonel, but you're right. After this, we're leaving for Earth."

Cain wanted to argue, but Adama outranked her by miles.

"Alright. Is that order absolute?"

Adama nodded.

"Take out the Hub, return to the Fleet. Colonel, the jump calculations?"

"Captain Gaeta is handling them."

All four looked at him.

"He came up with something I overlooked, so I promoted him. Is that a problem?"

Adama shook his head. "No. How long until they're complete?"

"2 hours: we've had the FTL computers running nonstop."

Cain scoffed.

"I thought it wouldn't take this long."

"Up yours, Cain. Remember, we're jumping across the fraking galaxy. Those 25 numbers are the only thing keeping us from jumping into a planet or star."

"Then we attack in 4 hours. Enough time to transfer the coordinates to the rest of the Fleet, and to dock the _Archangel_ with one of the Baseships."

Cain chuckled.

"Bastards are gonna feel this."

"Dismissed."

The five commanders left the War Room, their plan of attack ready for action.

Battlestar _Galactica_: CIC, two hours and 30 minutes later

Gaeta watched thousands of numbers streaming downwards on the screen.

At the moment, they had 24 of the 25 numbers needed for the FTL jump to Earth.

Ok, not Earth.

It would actually put them in very high orbit over the fifth planet, Jupiter.

Jumping the Fleet to Earth while there was a war going on could get everyone killed.

Besides, who the hell could get them at _Jupiter_?

The Cylons were going to be at the other end of the galaxy and Earth didn't have FTL technology.

Still, they would be keeping most of the military fleet with the civilians in order to safeguard them.

As he Colonel said three months before, nothing can get past the firepower of a _Zeus_-Class BSD.

And that had 10 of the fraking things.

"Mr. Gaeta!" Gaeta tore away from the screen and looked at the Colonel, who walked over to his station. "How are the calculations doing?" As if on cue, the 25th number was calculated. "Done." The Colonel smirked.

"11236 / 53653 / 21598 / 49846 / 31547. That's it. That's the FTL coordinates for the Sol System."

Gaeta didn't like the Colonel's insane smirk.

"Copy those numbers down. Couriers can get them to the rest of the Fleet."

Gaeta looked at his superior with a questioning gaze.

"Not over the comm channels?"

"No. Those can be intercepted by the Baseships, and while I'm happy to see how my grandchildren are doing, one of them is crazier then I am and is trying to kill us all."

Gaeta nodded, then copied down the coordinates onto a piece of paper.

"Sir, most of the civilian ships won't be able to make the jump."

"We're docking them with the Mobile Shipyards. They can handle the new program."

LCAM-X01A _Archangel_: Zero Hour

The massive assault carrier entered the Baseship's central axis very slowly.

While the central strut was at least five times wider then either of _Galactica's_ flight pods, there was still a chance of ramming something.

"God, please hear my prayers and make sure I don't ram into anything."

"Neumann, you're doing fine."

A few dozen thruster firings later, and the _Archangel_ was inside the Baseship.

"Is that damned Hub still in position?"

"Baseship Hybrid says so, but-"

Murrue nodded, having met the damned thing and needing a stiff drink afterwards.

"Give them the all-clear. We're ready to jump."

Resurrection Hub

While the Hub was under Cavil's control, he still wanted as many Baseships covering it as he could get. So when another Baseship jumped in, he wasn't worried. When four green beams launched at the Hub, THEN he got antsy.

Three missed completely, but the starboard-most Gottfried shot hit its' mark: the Hub's FTL drive.

The structure was completely destroyed: hacked off the Hub before exploding.

On the _Archangel_, Murrue chuckled.

"Whoops."

For some reason, she took perverse pleasure in seeing that thing explode.

Maybe the fact that Cavil's forces killed 20 people on _Galactica_ before the Centurions were taken out was the reason why.

"Archangel _Actual, Psycho: I'm away_!"

The Colonel's Mk III launched from the ship's 'seat' and jumped.

"Take us out, flank speed!"

The _Archangel_ launched, rocketing out of the Baseship, firing her Gottfrieds and Valiants at the Baseships protecting the Hub.

The Colonel was right as always, as the Raiders proved when they swarmed the _Archangel's_ defenses, a large number getting cut down by the CIWS cannons but even more getting through and pounding the battleship with missiles.

"We REALLY need more AA guns. This is NOT going to cut it!"

At that moment, the _Minerva_ jumped up, making half the Raiders (6000, if you want to count them all) break off their attack on the _Archangel_ and gun for the _Minerva_.

Her Picus turrets opened fire, cutting dozens of Raiders out of the sky, but more still got their chances to hit one of the ships that was such a pain in the Cylon's collective asses for the past 3 months and pelt it with missiles.

Of course, that was when the _Eternal_ jumped in and opened fire on the Raider formation with her beam cannons, missiles and CIWS.

If Cavil was scared shitless now, then he was about to be scared stupid.

Two Battlestars, not one, jumped in.

They were the _Mercury_-Class _Pegasus_ and the first ship of her own class, _Galactica_.

And both were launching Vipers.

Another Viper, a Mk III fit with an FTL drive pod, two 40mm cannon pods and what looked like a modified 30mm cannon pod under the nose jumped in and joined _Galactica's_ Vipers, leading them alongside Apollo, Starbuck and Luna.

"_WOOOOO-WHOOOOO!" _

"_Psycho, Apollo: tone down the crazy, will you?" _

"_Apollo, Psycho: up yours_!"

The Mk III barrel-rolled and opened fire on the Raiders with the modified 30mm cannon.

With the normal ones, the shots would've missed. But these were magnetically accelerated KEW rounds.

The Raiders didn't stand a chance in hell as they exploded, their debris hitting their fellows.

"_I've got over 3000 rounds with 'To whom it May concern' written on them, assholes_!"

Luna joined her insane superior and pressed the attack on one of the Baseships.

Cavil had learned his lesson, though, and installed AA missile batteries all over his Baseships.

He had not learned, however, that his grandfather was a better ECO then he was.

Ron's Mk III had equipment taken from a Raptor, so the missiles, which were DRADIS guided, were redirected.

Back at their launchers.

Sweet irony.

"_Should've used infrared, asshole! HAHAHAHAHA_!"

The 30mm shells ripped through the hull, eventually hitting the conventional weapons bays and making them explode.

And as anyone knows, conventional ordinance and a confined space equals BIG BOOM!

The Baseship exploded from within, and both Vipers barely got clear in time.

"_HELL YEAH! Haven't done that since Raptor Talon_!"

He checked his ammo count.

The 'special' 30mm read as 1387 rounds left and he still had a full load of conventional 30mm and 40mms.

He then checked on the two Battlestars.

_Galactica_ and _Pegasus_ were doing what Battlestars did best: killing Baseships in tandem.

Well, _Galactica_ was also pounding another one with her Tristans, the plasma burning the organic warship apart.

"_Care to kill another Baseship_?"

"Take your pick, Colonel, but it's suicide any way you choose."

There were eight other Baseships nearby, and Luna was right: it was suicide to fight them. Then the DRADIS blared out a warning.

"Multiple contacts! Shit, we're outgunned again!"

The Colonel smirked.

"_No. I know those ships._"

Before Luna could question him, they heard a message over the wireless.

"_Psycho, Asylum: do you copy_?"

The Colonel laughed.

"_Copy that, Old Bastard! Contact _Galactica: _Admiral Adama's in charge here_!"

Luna looked at her wingman.

"Sir?"

"_He's my boss: the REAL head of the Corps of Engineers and he's also regular Fleet_."

He looked at the massive fleet of civilian and military vessels, led by the six-podded Battlestar Dreadnought _Legacy_.

The _Zeus_-Class was a development of the _Legacy_: more gun batteries, removing four of the flight pods and enlarging the remaining two, lengthening and upgunning her (the _Legacy_ had 900cm guns while the _Zeus_ had 1500cm guns) and adding more CIWS turrets. Even so, she had more firepower then the flagship did at the moment.

"Galactica, Legacy _Actual: this is Vice-Admiral Zeus Avalonia. Major Pinkerton's informed me that you are in command here_."

Adama quickly responded.

"I promoted him to Colonel, but he was right: I am in command."

"_Where do you need us_?"

"Legacy, _Psycho: target the station and blow it to hell! I'll land and give you FTL coordinates for our Fleet while you're beating the shit out of them_!"

The Mk III turned for the massive BSD while Luna rejoined the furball. While all this was going on, the Raiders scored a victory by ramming into the Minerva's heat sink, which disabled the FTL drive. "Galactica, Minerva _Actual: we need to dock! Cylons took out our FTL drive_!"

"Confirmed. Begin approach."

At that moment, the _Legacy's_ Big Ass Guns TM tore the Resurrection Hub to pieces, and just as _Galactica's_ Vipers were recalled and the _Minerva_ docked with the Battlestar, Cavil's last remaining Baseship launched every nuke it had at _Galactica_.

Ron, who was on landing approach to the _Legacy_, knew that there was no way that Gaeta could calculate a jump before the nukes hit, nor was there a way they could survive 200 nukes hitting them, especially if they were 150 megaton warheads.

"Oh, frak. _Galactica_,Psycho: jump now! Jump, godsdamn it! You've got two hundred nukes inbound!"

The last Viper, Luna's, landed on the deck just seconds before Galactica retracted the pods.

The nukes were damn close to touching _Galactica_ when she jumped, avoiding the nukes altogether. Ron's Viper touched down on the flight deck as _Pegasus_ jumped back to the Fleet.

"Actual, we have a problem."

Now where could _Galactica_ have jumped off to?

Oh, why do I even bother asking? I already know the answer, and you guys have probably made a few guesses.

Next Time on the next special chapter of _THAB_ Ultimate Rewrite Edition: We find out what happened to _Galactica_!

Ja Ne!


	14. Chapter 13: Storming Earth

To Hell and Back Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 13: Storming Earth

IMPORTANT AN! PLEASE READ!

Ron the True Fan: Good day, everyone. While this breaks with tradition, I thought I should inform you all as to what the fuck is going on. Jorn, if you will?

(Camera pans to 117Jorn)

117Jorn: *Clears through* Wazzup everyone! 117Jorn here! Ron has decided to let me help write THAB URE! Looking forward to kicking some Toaster A**!

Ron the True Fan: Well, it's not the only ass you're kicking. Also, this chapter will conform to Jorn's standards rather then my own.

117Jorn: Yeah, what he means is that it will be less of a script format, and more like that of a genuine story. Make it easier for you to read. Actually including 'Saids' and such.

Ron the True Fan: The idea was to let the reader pick who was speaking, but that doesn't matter right now. Since I did all the writing for the last 12 Chapters, Jorn, the first scene is all yours.

117Jorn: *Cracks Knuckles* Let's do this!

* * *

Earth - C.E 74

Lagrange Point 3 - Near the Heliopolis Shoal Zone

* * *

The Heliopolis Shoal zone was the debris belt of what once was the Orb colony of Heliopolis, left adrift after its destruction in the first Bloody Valentine war. Although abandoned, the area was still Orb territory, and the Orb government has claimed they plan on replacing the destroyed colony with a newer colony, one which would be much more sturdy than the old Island-3 type colony that was once there.

Until that day came, the area was still patrolled by Orb warships. Or more precisely, a single Orb warship.

Floating in the space just outside the shoal Zone, were two vessels: One was a red and white colored _Izumo-_class battleship, while the second was a dark green and black colored _Girty Lue-_class battleship, which was currently docked with the vessel. On the side of each ship were their respective names, the _Amaterasu, _and _Hell Vulture._

On the bridge of the _Amaterasu, _Captain Victoria Harvey, a woman in her late 30's with sandy blond shoulder-length hair and blue eyes wearing the standard Orb Captain uniform, sighed as she turned to an individual on the Bridge "Thanks for coming so quickly, Mr. Takeo." She said, "We thought we'd be stuck here for a while."

The Individual in question was a young man who looked to be in his mid twenties, with short spiked black hair and crimson colored eyes, wearing a pair of sneakers, blue jeans, and a red T-Shirt with a black Flak Jacket. Jaden Takeo smiled and shrugged "We were just in the area." He said, "Junk Guild is alway glad to help a ship in need. In fact we should be thanking you, its been pretty boring in this area. Most of the latest action is going around the PLANTs and Earth. I can only dream of going over there and salvaging everything I come across from ships to MS parts." He then sighed as he looked at his handheld computer "Anyways, your engines are fixed now. Should give you enough power to make it back to Ame-no-Mihashira."

The Captain nodded, "We will, Commander." She said, "Thank you, again."

Jaden smirked as he saluted, before he turned and left the bridge. Floating through Zero G he moved through the halls of the _Amaterasu, _reaching the hangar bay of the Battleship. Inside there were eight Orb Mobile Suits, three MBF-M1 Astrays, one MBF-M1A Astray, three MVF-M11C Murasames one of which was a Reconnaissance Type, and a single MVF-M12A Ootsukigata. However Jaden headed towards a ninth unit in the hangar, which stood out of all of the machines. It was colored Crimson Red, with a black trim, and was not a simple run-in-the-gun Mass Production M.S.

This was _his _custom Mobile Suit: A GAT-X105E Strike Gundam E (Or as he had renamed it: Strike Aka), one of the M.S he had 'Liberated' from the Earth Alliance's Phantom Pain group, along with the very ship he now commanded. It was currently attached with a AQM/E-X09S Noir Striker pack. Its P.S armor was modified Trans Phase Shift armor, that had the same capabilities of the Variable Phase Shift Armor. Jaden didn't like how M.S with P.S armor would lose its colors when it ran out of power, but thankfully his modifications fixed that problem for his Strike E.

Jaden entered the cockpit of his Gundam, and strapped himself in as he got himself settled in, activating his M.S. "Alright, I'll be launching now." He said, as his Gundam approached the launch catapult of the _Amaterasu._ "Jaden Takeo, Strike Aka, Launching!"

The Strike Aka launched from the Amaterasu, and made its way to the _Hell Vulture._ "Hell Vulture, this is Commander Takeo." He said, "Detach docking cables and open the hatches, I'm coming home."

"_Roger that, Commander Takeo._" The XO of the _Hell Vulture _said. "_Got word from Lowe, he said he needed our help on a mission in the Debris belt._"

Jaden smirked "Tell him I'll-" He began, before suddenly, out of nowhere, a _MASSIVE _vessel appeared a short distance away from them, looking like a pair of starfish. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?"

"_What is-HOLY SHIT!_" The _Hell Vulture's _XO Shouted, "_Unknown Contact! 25 Kilometers out! Jesus, look at the size of that thing! Its bigger than the _Gondwana!"

"No Shit!" Jaden shouted, before he cursed again as the vessel began launching Horseshoe-shaped Mobile Armors "Fuck, their launching a shit load of Mobile Armors! Unknown Model!"

"_And Missiles!_" The XO shouted, as the vessel began launching missiles their way. "_All hands, Red Alert! Launch all Mobile Suits and intercept those Missiles!_"

"Hell Vulture, Amaterasu _here,_" Captain Harvey said on the Comm, "_We're launching M.S to assist!_"

Jaden smiled a bit grimly, at least they weren't alone. Acting quickly he picked out his Gundam's two M8F-SB1 "Shorty" Beam Rifles, and opened up as he shot each missile and Mobile Armor out of the sky, one by one. Meanwhile the _Amaterasu _launched its Mobile Suits, soon followed by the _Hell Vulture, _launching its own custom M.S that he himself had designed: Four ZGMF-602F GuAIZ F Types and five GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kai's, and also launching were a Black and Gold colored GAT-X133 Sword Calamity, and a Red and White ZGMF-X56S/θ Destiny Impulse.

"Matt! You take control of Strike Team!" Jaden ordered, "Amy, you take over Gwaze Team! Intercept those Missiles and Mobile Armors!"

"_Got it!_" A male voice responded, as the Sword Calamity charged forward, the Strike Dagger Kai's following as he sliced the Mobile Armors apart with his Anti-Ship Swords, while the Daggers intercepted the rest with their ranged weapons.

"Jesus Christ, there's THOUSANDS of them!" The pilot of the Destiny Impulse shouted, a woman, firing away the Destiny Impulse's full complement of weapons to destroy the inbound targets, while the GuAIZ F Types supported her, along with the Orb M.S.

"Keep it together, and take out those missiles!" Jaden ordered, when suddenly there was another flash, and another warship, this one looking more like it was built to fight appeared. And moments later came two more starfish-like ships, appeared. "Who the hell?"

* * *

Battlestar _Galactica _- CIC - seconds after the end of Chapter 12

* * *

"Frak! SitRep!" Adama shouted, as the entire ship shook.

"Six DRADIS contacts: four of them are confirmed as Cylon Baseships!" Gaeta reported, "The other two aren't in the warbook!"

Adama scowled. Half the Viper wing was no longer aboard (most of them had landed on _Pegasus_) and they still had the _Minerva _clogging up the starboard flight pod. "Get our Vipers out there, NOW!" He ordered "And tell Gladys to get the hell out of the flight pod!"

"On it, sir!" Gaeta said, as the _Galactica_ banked sharply, launching her freshly rearmed and refueled Vipers.

"Hopefully we can make the toasters frak off permanently." Saul said, "We DID just blow up their Resurrection Hub."

"Don't be too sure, Saul." Adama said, before turning to Anastasia "Dee, get the unknowns on the horn." He said, "Let's try to coordinate our fire on those Baseships."

Dee got to work, but _Galactica_, even with the _Minerva_, couldn't hold off four Baseships. She'd have to work quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile - With Jaden

* * *

"_Is that the _Minerva?" Amy asked, as they watched as the famous/infamous ZAFT Flagship appeared from out of the new Alligator-shaped vessel. And moments later, the vessel launched multiple Fighter-like Mobile Armors, and began to intercept the Unknown Mobile Armors with ZAKU heads.

"Looks like it," Jaden said, "But their fighting those Unknowns and not us, so that puts them as allies for now!" He then hit the Comm with the _Hell Vulture _and _Amaterasu._ "Captain Harvey! Captain Cossack, focus fire on the closest Starfish ship! Mark the new contacts as friendlies!"

"_Actually, we're picking up a transmission right now._" Captain Cossack, the XO of the _Hell Vulture _said. "_Its __coming from the new ship... patching it through._"

A female voice then came on. "_Attention unknown vessels: this is the Battlestar _Galactica." She said, "_Please respond on this frequency._" Most of _Galactica's _guns turned on the starfish ships, firing giant railgun shots at them. "_Those put our Valiants to shame!_" Captain Harvey said, and just then another turret fired what looked like a Gottfried blast, coring and destroying a starfish. "Holy shit." Jaden said, "Patch me through to her!"

A few moments passed, before he got the go-ahead. "This is Commander Jaden Takeo, of the Junk Guild Vessel _Hell Vulture, _and the Orb Union vessel _Amaterasu._" He said, "To the... Battlestar _Galactica,_ we are receiving you, and thanks for the hand!"

"_This is Admiral Adama._" An older male voice said, "_Coordinate with our gun crews so we can take out those Baseships! And keep those Raiders off our Vipers!_" Then _Galactica_ threw up, of all things, a FLAK FIELD. Most of the missiles that were being fired at the massive Battlestar didn't get through, and what did were quickly cut down by CIWS turrets.

"_Commander Takeo, this is Major Lee Adama, callsign Apollo._" Another Male voice said, "_We'll try to keep as many of these Raiders off your asses. Take out one of those Baseships: we know your MSs can._"

"Look, you'd better-" Jaden began, before a larger ship, similar in design to _Galactica_, then appeared in a flash. "Galactica, Pegasus _Actual._" A new female voice said, "_You should thank Colonel Pinkerton later: he thought you ended up here._"

"_Copy, Helena._" Adama said, "_I'll promote him._" The new ship, clearly called _Pegasus_, launched even MORE fighters and even a few Mobile Suits based on the Murasume.

"_What the fuck is going on?!_" Matthew shouted.

"Got me!" Jaden responded, and then two ships that any idiot would recognize appeared in another flash: the LCAM-X01A _Archangel _and the _Eternal_. The Baseships clearly got the message, disappearing in flashes of light.

Finally, Jaden had enough "Would someone like to explain to me what the HELL is going on?" He shouted.

"_Commander Takeo, this is Colonel Ronald Pinkerton, callsign Psycho._" A new voice said, "_If you think you're confused now, wait until you get on board _Galactica. _We'll tell you everything there._"

Jaden groaned "Great..." he muttered, "Cossack, send a message back to Lowe... tell him we're gonna be late." He shook his head as he headed towards the vessel he assumed was _Galactica._ "Matt, Amy, you two and the teams stay tight. Jesus, of all the things..."

* * *

Later - Onboard _Galactica_

* * *

The Strike Aka finally reached _Galactica, _where he was directed towards its landing bay as his M.S gently landed on the surface. Jaden quickly noticed that there was gravity, which gave him more questions than answers. "Who the hell are these guys?" he muttered to himself, as he opened the hatch of his M.S, and descended down to the deck on his cable.

"Commander Takeo?" A voice said, and he looked at a man with blue eyes and black-blonde hair, whose eyes betrayed his age. He was older then he looked. MUCH older. "Colonel Pinkerton. I spoke to you on the wireless." He said, "Please follow me: Admiral Adama wants to speak with you."

Jaden nodded, as he followed the Colonel, looking at _Galactica's_ seemingly antique design. "It looks so...old." He said.

"Galactica's actually the first Battlestar ever built: first of her line, and the best ship in the Fleet." The Colonel answered, "She's also the flagship."

Jaden nodded "But..." he said, "Even with the age, it could still look a little more-"

"Modern?" Ron finished "Trust me when I say all will be explained when we get to the wardroom." He led Jaden deeper into the Battlestar, reaching a large room, seemingly made for dealing with the press. Five people were waiting for them. One was an old man, who the Colonel saluted. '_That's Adama. Has to be._' He thought.

"Colonel, take your seat." Adama said, as the man walked toward a chair and sat down.

"Commander Takeo, I presume?" The Admiral asked, at his nod he continued "I'm Admiral William Adama. This is my XO, Colonel Saul Tigh-" The bald man nodded at him, and Jaden could tell one thing. He was a drinker. A HEAVY drinker. "And this is the President of the 12 Colonies of Kobol, Laura Roslin." The lady sitting beside him smiled, but didn't speak. And Jaden KNEW the signs of cancer when he saw them. "Please, take a seat."

Jaden nodded as he sat across from them. "Look, I know this is out of turn and all, but-" He began.

"You're wondering what the frak is going on." Adama said, "Then we're going to tell you after you answer this single question. Are we near Earth?"

Jaden blinked, but nodded "Yeah... you're practically right on top of it." He said, "We're in Lagrange Point 3, near the Heliopolis Shoal Zone."

"Thank you, Commander." Adama said, with a smile "Now you get your answers. We're not from Earth. In fact, we're not even from the Sol System."

Jaden was silent for a moment, as he looked at Adama, then the President, then Ron, before he chuckled and shook his head, smiling. "You're pulling my leg." He said, "Come on, what's the real story. You're from Mars, aren't you? I've heard they've been coming up with some crazy tech lately."

"We wish." Roslin said, "We're actually from the 12 Colonies of Kobol. Kobol is where humanity was born. Earth is our 13th Colony."

"Hold it!" Jaden said, raising his hands "That's not possible! We would KNOW if we weren't from Earth!"

"Not if your ancestors decided to erase their pasts." Ron said, as the Colonel handed him a photo of a city that was not on Earth. "That's Caprica City, before the Fall. Admiral Adama is from there, same with his son."

Jaden looked at the photo, before he looked back at the rest of them, before looking at the photo again, and back at them. "...Son of a bitch..." he muttered.

"And it gets worse." Ron said, "To summarize, I'll tell you a story. The Cylons were created by Man. They were made to make life better on the 12 Colonies. Then the day came where they decided to kill their masters. A 12 year war was fought, then an armistice was declared. We didn't see our robotic creations for 45 years. Then they came back and nuked our worlds. Try and picture it: 50 billion dead. And it gets even worse. They don't look like robots anymore. They look and feel human. Some are programed to even think they're human." Jaden glanced at Adama, who winced.

Jaden looked at them all "So... you created your own AI's," he began, "But, you treated them like slaves and they got angry and rebelled leading to a war. Then you made peace, but they came back. But now they look like Humans? And you're all that's left of humanity from where you're from?" He groaned a bit "Geez, it's like the plot to a Sci-Fi T.V Series..." he then leaned forward "And I'm guessing you still hate the Cylons, just as much as they hate you, right?"

"For the most part." Ron said, "I could personally care less. After all, I created the last version of them before the shit hit the fan."

Jaden sighed "Well, let me be the first to warn you." He said, "We here at Earth use A.I... granted not many, most people don't think much of A.I... unless their Lowe... not only did he find that one A.I of his named 8, but he also found the brain of George Glen and turned his mind into an A.I... still freaked me the fuck out when I first met him. Only me and Lowe really use A.I, since I got Lucy running the _Hell Vulture's _cyber warfare systems and other systems."

He then brought out a hand-held computer "And she just messaged me that those Cylons tried hacking their way into both my ship and the _Amaterasu, _but she batted their attempts away." He said, "Looks like Cylon's aren't very prepared against fighting _other _A.I that are better at their own game." He smirked a bit "Good thing I don't network _every _system of the _Hell Vulture_ together like some idiots in the Earth Sphere do. We've caused all sorts of havoc with E.A and ZAFT ships that are stupid enough to do that."

"Well, if you ever try that with us, it won't work." Ron said, "And once we were done laughing at you, we're blow you out of the sky. While we use KEWs, our guns are a LOT bigger than yours. But that's neither here nor there. What we need is information. What the frak is going on around the Earth Sphere?"

"First off, trust me when I say you are underestimating what the _Hell Vulture _and Lucy can do," Jaden said, as he sighed. "But, if you want info, its simple: Its been going to _Shit_ after what happened at Berlin. E.A is taking over, and all out war going on between ZAFT and the E.A. When the _Minerva _disappeared, it was a major blow to ZAFT morale, but then the loss of EA's last Extended pilots was a big blow as well, but the EA continued on, pumping out those new DESTROY Mobile Suits."

He shook his head "Pointless if you ask me," he said, "Even _if _the EA wins the war, all the money they're putting to the war effort is gonna make them go bankrupt! I've _seen _how much those things cost! You could make an entire Mobile Suit Battalion for the price of one of those things!" He then rolled his eyes "But the E.A is just stupid, too driven by Blue Cosmos and their obsessive hate against Coordinators. They only care about the short-term, and not considering the long-term effects of their actions! And it ain't doing much better in ZAFT."

"What about Orb?" Adama asked as he looked at the Junk Guild MS pilot. "From what we're heard, it's supposed to be a neutral nation."

"Yeah, that was _before _they allied up with the Atlantic Federation," Jaden said, "The war is going South for every neutral nation in the world. You're either with ZAFT or the E.A. The United States of South America and Oceania Union picked sides with ZAFT, while the Earth Forces invaded Scandinavia, and the Equilateral Union, annexing them into their territory. Orb's been going to shit with the Serians in charge. The Sahaku family has been keeping Orb from being _completely _assimilated into the E.A, but no one knows for how much longer."

A phone buzzed in the corner, and Tigh went to pick it up. "XO." He said, and a few moments passed before his eyes widened. "Bill, you've got to hear this." He switched it to the speakers.

"_At 1230 hours, Aprilius Local Time, Operation Fury will begin._" A voice said, Jaden recognizing it as the voice of the Chairman "_I want Djbril captured, Captain. At any cost._"

"_Copy that, Mr. Chairman._" Another voice said, "_We'll level Orb if need be._"

Ron summed up their thoughts. "Frak." He muttered, "ZAFT's going to invade Orb."

Jaden glanced at Adama, and while he didn't know the Old Man well enough, he knew the look. He was planning something. "Colonel, how long would it take you to install a levitator unit on a Battlestar?" He asked, and the Colonel shrugged. "18 hours if I had help." He said, "Why?"

"We're going to take back Orb." He said.

Jaden shrugged "Count me and the _Vulture's_ crew in," he said, getting looks from the others "The _Vulture _can enter and exit the Earth's atmosphere. And I think I can convince the Captain of the _Amaterasu _to come along - considering it _is _an Orb vessel. Her ship is one of the newer _Izumos_ that functions like the _Archangel _and can operate both in atmosphere and in space."

"Then I want you and Colonel Pinkerton to work together." Adama said, "I want that levitator installed on _Galactica_ RFN."

"Aye sir!" Ron said, saluting.

Jaden stood up, with a small sigh. "Installing a levitation unit on a vessel the size of the _Gondwana,_ in enough time to save an entire nation from being invaded by a foreign power with superior numbers." He said, before he grinned "I love a challenge."

"Then get to it, gentlemen."

* * *

Battlestar _Galactica _- War Room - 2 hours later

* * *

While the levitator was being installed (which would take the better part of a day) Adama began refining his plan. It was absolute insanity: jump _Galactica _in over Orb, crash dive, jump again, this time into a cloud bank and use _Galactica's _600cm guns to kill anything that got close to Orb. Vipers and Raptors would support the Orb ground forces while the Mobile Suits took on anything ZAFT threw at them. "Who the hell's going to keep ZAFT from dropping more troops on us?" Saul asked.

Starbuck smirked, then pulled out a model of a _Mercury_-Class Battlestar. "_Pegasus_." She said, "ZAFT ships are like Cylon Baseships: almost zero armor and they rely on their Mobile Suits for cover."

Tigh chuckled. "And Pinkerton's new Darts beat the frak out of any of their ZAKUs or GOUFs." He said.

"Exactly." Starbuck said, "We've got 40 Darts now, so we load 20 of them on _Pegasus _for space superiority-"

"While the rest we put on _Galactica_." Adama finished.

"What about the nukes?" Tigh asked.

"We're got N-Jammer Cancellers now, but I don't think Orb will be happy about us tossing nukes around like candy." Starbuck said, and Adama looked at the plotting table, more accurately at the models of the _Archangel and Minerva_. "I want the _Eternal _supporting _Pegasus_." He said, "We'll need the _Minerva _and _Archangel _down there. _Pegasus_ will have the edge in mobility in space. Unless Commanders Pinkerton and Takeo can solve our maneuverability problem, we'll need the cover more then they will."

"Well, that's fraking perfect."

* * *

Battlestar Galactica - Frame 87, deck 50

* * *

"This whole plan is insane, Commander."

"You can just call me Ron."

_Galactica_ was a massive ship. So massive that she would need three levitator units just to stay airborne, which was why Ron was modifying the AG field generators to give them the extra push they needed to actually fly while Jaden and a Junk Guild engineering team began installing the levitators. "What did you mean when you said that after you were done laughing at us, you'd blow us up?" Jaden asked.

"CCE protocol is to not hook communications into everything else." Ron said, "You can't hack into a network wirelessly if it's not wireless."

"So you do what we do." Jaden said with a small smirk "Smart."

"And I wasn't kidding about the bigger guns, either." He said, "Your ship is lightly armored by our standards. A few shots WILL destroy it."

Jaden chuckled a bit "Trust me Ron, the _Hell Vulture _has a lot more under its hood than you'd think." He said, "After we... liberated it from the E.A a year ago, I custom made every last system, Mobile Suit and weapon on that ship. The Strike Dagger Kai's can keep up with Windams, and the GuAIZ F Types makes GOUF's look like antiques." He then leaned forward "Plus, like other _Girty Lue-_class Battleships, she's got Mirage Colloid, so you can't hit what you can't see. Not only that, but I've given her my own custom updated version of Artemis's Lightwave Barrier shields. When activated, it could survive over a dozen Nuclear Detonations and still hold up."

Ron rose an eyebrow "But wouldn't it eventually run out of power?" He asked, "Even if you had Thermonuclear engines-"

"No, we've got something better." Jaden said with a smirk, "Helium-3 Engines, you see I discovered a method of nuclear fusion that's _not _Radioactive, and is absolutely infinite! Using Helium-3 from Gas Giants like say Jupiter, I have created a Reactor that is literally infinite in energy! And I made an ultracompact variant for the Dagger Kai's, GuAIZ F's and me and my siblings mobile suits. We have absolutely infinite energy for our ships and Mobile Suits, so they can keep Phase-shift armor on indefinitely."

Ron looked at Jaden, slightly impressed "How did you do the journey from Earth to Jupiter and back?" he asked, "I thought it would take people from Earth years."

"Simple, GENESIS." Jaden answered, "Although that idiot Patrick Zala only saw it as a weapon, I designed and built the Original model, GENESIS Alpha, which is owned and operated by the Junk Guild. It was originally made as a method of Fast-travel between other planets in the solar system, and eventually other Star systems entirely. So using GENESIS Alpha and attaching mirrors onto ships, we could travel between Earth, to Mars or Jupiter, in a few days. Normally a journey like that would take Years or Months."

"But what about the return trip?" Ron asked.

"That is another project I have," Jaden said, "I call it the GENESIS Network: It will be a Network of four GENESIS's, consisting of Alpha here in the Earth Sphere, two over Mars, and one in orbit around Jupiter. When they're all built, people can easily travel across the space between Earth, Mars and Jupiter in record-breaking time. I hope to use this system, when its complete, to allow ships to begin more... large-scale mining of Jupiter for its Helium-3 deposits. I want the Earth to stop using normal Nuclear reactors, and using Helium-3 Reactors! You see, I discovered that the Helium-3 Reactors are completely unaffected by the N-Jammer effect because they use a different type of neutron than regular nuclear reactors. So adding to that, plus it has no Radiation, its the ideal power source!"

"Well, we can give you a Raptor with an FTL drive and you can copy it." Ron said, "Cheaper and a lot easier than making an oversized station that could easily be weaponized."

He flipped a switch, and the power flickered slightly as the matter/antimatter reactor finally started supplying power to the AG field generators. "We're going to need to replace that thing soon." He said, "I've jury-rigged it so it won't explode in our faces, but this will be the last fight that thing's going through." He walked toward the hatch. "Well, that's the price you pay for taking a reactor from a derelict warship and barely knowing how to repair it."

He left the room, and Jaden followed him. "You know, we can fix the M/AM reactor for you." Jaden pointed out.

"We took it from the wreck of a _Lesseps_-Class land battleship that ended up in space. It's on its' last legs." Ron said, "Replacing it is the wiser option." Then they heard a buzz coming from his pants. "Hold on." Ron pulled out his cell phone. "Pinkerton." He said, and nodded "Aye, sir. Well, you'll have to ask Representative Athha-Right, she'd do it anyways."

He then blinked "You want to pull out THAT?" He asked, causing Jaden to blink "Frak, _Pegasus_ is overkill enough!" He took in a breath. "Yes, sir. I'll inform Admiral Avalonia. Just pray his daughter doesn't try to rape me. Again." He hung up, and sighed "I've got to go talk to my boss. Want to come along?"

Jaden shrugged "Sure!" He said.

* * *

Battlestar Galactica - Starboard Flight Pod - 15 minutes later

* * *

"_Raptor 358, you are clear for launch_."

"Copy, _Galactica _Control." Ron said, "Taking off." A Raptor launched from _Galactica, _and out into space carrying Jaden and Ron, the former of which sat in the co-pilot seat.

"Gotta say, I like this Raptor." Jaden said, "But it could use some improvements... it looks severely underarmed. Once it runs out of missiles, you're pretty much screwed."

"Well, it's not built for direct combat." Ron answered "It's a support craft that can either fire anti-ship missiles or jam the shit out of anything within range, but it does have a 50mm autocannon under the nose. No one uses it though since this thing never gets into a dogfight."

"Still, it should be better armed to be able to defend itself." Jaden said, "It feels more like a Gunship or Dropship than it does a simple support ship. Besides, if you want something for heavy Anti-Ship duties, use Mobile Suits, or like Canard's team does, use Moebius Mobile Armors. Their outdated true, but they're ideal for quick hit-and-run bombing strikes in space. Maybe you colonials should work on making a Fighter-Bomber or attack craft for that type of duty, and maybe make a new Raptor that's more useful deploying troops on a battlefield quickly, and providing some air support, and being capable of defending itself from other Fighters and Suits?"

"I'll work on it when I've got time." Ron said, as he flicked a few switches "Hang on. We're about to jump."

Jaden looked at him oddly "Jump?" He asked, just as Ron pushed a red button, and Jaden's vision warped for a moment. Then they were over a volcanic moon. "Wait, that's Io!" Jaden shouted in surprise.

"We kept wondering what to call that moon." Ron said, "Io, huh?"

"_Raptor 358, _Legacy _Control: you're clear to land on landing bay 5._" A voice said on Wireless "_Checkers Green, hands on approach._"

"Copy, _Legacy_." Ron said, as Jaden then saw a MASSIVE ship, shaped much like _Pegasus_, but with six flight pods and at least 70 kilometers long. "Holy shit." He whispered.

"That's the _Legacy._" Ron said, "She's the prototype for all future Battlestar Dreadnoughts. But as you can see, it's got more than a few flaws." Jaden looked at the flight pods, realizing what he meant. They were too small, and the engines were too exposed.

"Yeah... but man, she's still huge!" Jaden said, "Its bigger than a PLANT colony!"

"Then you should see the _Zeus_." Ron said, "She's a LOT bigger, and doesn't have ANY of the _Legacy's _flaws." The Raptor touched down and landed on a lift, which took it down into the hanger. "You seem well heeled for someone who just learned that there are humans from the other end of the galaxy less then 3 hours ago." He said.

Jaden shrugged "Eh, I got over it." He said, "I've watched _hundreds _of Sci-fi movies, T.V Shows and games with things _WAY _weirder than Humans from other planets. And when you live in a world where there are giant space battles of Giant 18 Meter tall robots, everyone seems to have a type of super-weapon that should only exist in Science Fiction, and people are fighting just because you're _born _a bit differently? You tend to just accept weird shit. Just get me in a Mobile Suit, and give me something to fix. I'm from the Junk Guild, fixing what needs fixing and building what needs building is what we do!"

"I see." Ron said, "Well, you'd be welcome in the CCE if you ever wanted to join us. We don't give a shit what or who you are as long as you know what you're doing."

Jaden chuckled a bit "Ron, I have a feeling once the Junk Guild finds out about you and CCE, I wouldn't be surprised if they asked for a permanent partnership." He said. Both exited the Raptor and came face to face with a man in a CCE uniform with admiral's rank pins. He looked older then Ron, and the gray hair only supported this. "Frak!" He cursed.

"Relax, Ron." The man said, "You knew I would be welcoming you onboard." He looked at Jaden. "Vice-Admiral Zeus Avalonia, head of the Colonial Corps of Engineers." He said. "Welcome aboard the _Legacy_."

Jaden nodded "Commander Jaden Takeo, of the Junk Guild, Commander of the _Hell Vulture._" He said, with a short salute "Pleasure to be here sir, I think the Junk Guild is gonna get along with the CCE perfectly."

"My field marshal seems taken with you, Commander." He said, "He wouldn't've brought you here, otherwise."

"He's a good engineer. I'll grant him that, sir." Ron said, "I came here with a request from the Fleet Admiral. He wants the _Legacy_ to support _Pegasus_ in the battle to come."

"Ron, you and I both know that the Legacy is a flawed ship." Avalonia said, "I love her to death, but even a Spitfire would be a better help."

"Your ship is bigger than any ship ZAFT or the E.A has to offer, sir." Jaden said, "I mean, just _having _this ship in orbit will probably scare ZAFT away! Its bigger than their largest vessel, the _Gondwana!_ Its even bigger than a PLANT colony. I doubt ZAFT could muster up the force necessary to take down your ship sir."

"Yes, but they have an advantage, Commander Takeo." The Admiral said, "Mobile Suits. We only have 40 of Ron's new CDF-01 Darts. They will have _hundreds _of ZAKUs and GOUFs. And from what I have seen, the _Legacy_ will be torn asunder by them."

Jaden smirked a bit "Unless you have some support," he said, catching both of their attention "I have a _lot _of pull in the Junk Guild sir, along with Serpent Tail. In fact my parents are two of the founders of the Junk Guild. I can send a message to Junk Guild command at GENESIS Alpha to send you some support, we've got Mobile Suits and ships that will keep ZAFT's off of you."

Avalonia smiled. "Very well. I-" He began...

"RONNIE!" A loud female voice shouted, and the CCE field marshal paled. "Oh, NO." he said.

"It seems my daughter learned that you're here." Avalonia said with a small smirk.

"Frak this!" He shouted as he grabbed Jaden and got back into the Raptor. "Who the hell was that?!" Jaden asked.

"Commander Nova Avalonia," Ron explained hurriedly as he got the Raptor running as quickly as he could "Commander of the medical transport _Asclepius_, the daughter of my boss and the only woman in the Fleet who wants to RAPE ME!"

Jaden blinked in surprise, as he looked out the window of the Raptor. A blue-haired woman wearing a commander's uniform ran toward the Raptor, but it was already in the airlock. "Come on, COME ON!" He shouted hurriedly as the Raptor took off, and Ron spooled up the FTL drive, ready to head back to _Galactica_.

"What's so bad about her?" Jaden asked, "She _looked _alright... is she crazy or something?"

"My callsign is Psycho." Ron said, "The fact that SHE wants me means she's crazier then I am!"

"Define your term of 'Crazy'." Jaden asked, "As in Yandere-crazy or she just has a super-obsessive crush on you?"

"She would take on a Cylon Baseship in an unarmed shuttle if I asked her to!" Ron exclaimed "THAT'S crazy!"

"So? Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Jaden asked, getting a bit confused.

"If you like her so much, why don't YOU date her?" Ron shouted, as he banged the controls "COME ON! SPOOL UP!"

"I would... but I can't..." Jaden looked down a bit, "I'm... not very good with talking to girls... its kinda hard to find women who are interested in Mobile Suits, Weapons, Science Fiction, Starships, and all sorts of other tech, without stuttering like I have a speech impediment."

"Well, it doesn't help that she's practically declared herself my wife!" Ron shouted "Issue is, I'm 70 years old! That's EXTREME cradle robbing if you ask me!" The screen showed that the drive was spooled up. "Thank you, Lords." He said before he pushed the button, jumping them back to _Galactica_.

"70?" Jaden asked surprised, after the Jump was completed. "Damn, I knew you seemed older than you looked, but 70?"

"My parents were genetically engineered." Ron explained "Hell, my entire FAMILY has had their genes rewritten. I'm the only one who hasn't."

"_Raptor 358, _Galactica: _you're clear to land in bay one._" The _Galactica's _Operator said, "_Checkers Red: call the ball._"

"_Galactica,_ Raptor 358: Hands on approach." Ron responded, "I have the ball." He guided the Raptor down with practiced ease. "I'm a veteran of the First Cylon War, same as Adama and Zeus. I know my way around the battlefield."

Jaden nodded "I can relate," he said, "I've seen a fair share action in the last war, and this one too. Not as much as you've seen of course." He then sighed a bit "I'd rather I hadn't seen it all in the first place... lost a lot of good friends."

"At least you didn't have to fight and kill your own creations." Ron said, "I did." The Raptor descended into the hanger, and Ron got out of the pilot's seat. "If you can track down your parents, I'll take us to their ship." He said, "I'd like to meet them." The hatch opened and Ron left the scout ship, heading for _Galactica's _CIC.

"Sure thing!" Jaden shouted back, "I'll head back to my ship and get a hold of em!" And with that, he ran towards where the Strike Aka resided, ascending up the cable, and a few minutes later, launching.

* * *

Later - _Galactica _CIC

* * *

Ron entered CIC and saluted the Fleet Admiral. While a waste of time, it was protocol. "Admiral?" He said, announcing his presence.

Adama looked at the CCE field marshal "Yes, Commander?" Adama asked.

"The _Legacy _will be able to support _Pegasus_, but-" Ron began.

"Cain will be in command of the space operation, Commander." Adama said with a small sigh "I don't like it, but we need her ruthlessness. As much as I hate to say it, people in the Earth Sphere are too sentimental. They won't do what needs to be done."

"Yes, sir." Ron said, "The Junk Guild have also offered to help us. Commander Takeo is going to get in contact with their leaders, and we should have some more support from them."

"Commander, as soon as the levitator is installed, we're launching the attack." Saul said, "We don't have time to wait for reinforcements!"

"Colonel Tigh, control yourself." Ron snapped, but Adama looked at Ron. "The Colonel's right, Commander. We'll have to make due with the _Archangel _and _Minerva_."

"Aye, sir." Ron said.

"Don't take it as an insult." He said, "Time, as always, simply isn't on our side. Check in with the engineering teams: find out when we can head out."

Ron saluted and walked out of CIC.

"I get the feeling that those Junk Guild guys aren't going to like Cain very much, Bill." Saul said with a sigh.

"She's a necessary evil at the moment." Adama said, "As soon as Earth is secured and our people safe, then we'll deal with her." Adama was sickened by Cain's treatment of her Cylon prisoner. Rape, torture and degradation were just part of it: she was broken. While Tigh hated the Cylons as much as anyone (AN: Ironic, if you ask me) even he would be merciful and just shoot the Cylon after they were done getting all the intel they could out of it instead of doing what Cain did. To say Thorne was dead was an understatement. The man was in pieces. Literally.

They were STILL finding pieces of him after Shinji not so gently ripped him apart. If the kid weren't so young, the deck crew would be giving the kid free rotgut booze for a month.

"Dee, tell Captains Gladys and Ramius to plot a jump into Earth's atmosphere just outside Orb territory." He ordered, and Dee saluted "Aye, sir."

Adama continued looking at _Galactica's_ blueprints, wincing at the punishment he was going to be putting his ship through, even if they could repair it.

* * *

Zero Hour - L1 Lagrange Point (Directly over the United Emirates of Orb)

* * *

Three _Nazca_-Class destroyers hung over Orb, ready to drop their MS drop pods into the fight at any time. "Back _to _Coronado_: are you seeing this on sensors_?" The operator of one of the vessels asked.

"_Negative, _Back_._" Came a reply "_What do you see?_"

"It's-" However the response was cut off as a volley of 600cm rounds hit the _Back's _topside, tearing into the _Nazca_ and destroying her. "_What the fuck was-_" Then another volley hit the _Coronado_, destroying the _Nazca_ almost instantaneously. The last _Nazca_, the _Krusenstern_, was the only ship to see what was killing them: a massive ship in the rough shape of an alligator, firing a LOT of 600cm rounds at them. But like her sisters, the _Krusenstern_ was unable to open her catapult doors, let alone fight before she, too, was destroyed.

The _Hell Vulture_ was now surrounded by a wide assortment of vessels of the Junk Guild from old _Marcellis III-_class Transports to captured or Salvaged E.A and ZAFT vessels like _Drake-_class escorts and _Laurasia-_class Frigates. On the bridge, Jaden's eyes narrowed as he picked up the Comm "_Hell Vulture_ to _Pegasus_: what the fuck are you doing?!" He demanded.

"_Dealing with the enemy before they become a threat._" Cain responded "_Now _Galactica _can jump without being molested._"

Jaden scowled. Cain didn't even give them a chance to surrender before she opened fire! "I'll deal with _you _later." He muttered, "Just tell _Galactica _to jump in! ZAFT will probably send in reinforcements when they find out those ships aren't reporting in anymore."

"_Copy. _Galactica _should be jumping in right about..._" Then the massive shark-like form of the oldest Battlestar appeared just over 200000 feet above Orogoro Island. "_Now._" (AN: Play Storming New Caprica here. Fitting, since I'm more or less stealing that idea from Exodus Part Two!)

* * *

ZAFT _Minerva_-Class Battleship LHM-BB02 _Fortuna _- Orb territorial waters

* * *

"Captain, I'm picking up something coming in from above!"

Captain Maria Vincennes looked at her radar/MS operator. "We've got three _Nazcas_ ready to drop Mobile Suits onto Orb." She said, "It's probably them doing just that."

"Ma'am, unless we've got drop pods the size of a _Gondwana_-Class supercarrier, that's NOT what I'm seeing!" The Operator shouted. This confused the Captain "Put it up!" She ordered.

The forward screen showed a massive object, shaped like either an alligator or a shark (AN: _Galactica _does look kind of like a shark without the fins. Scary thought, huh?) dropping toward them. "Holy fuck!" She shouted, "Where-"

"It's right on top of us!" The blonde haired woman looked at the massive ship (at least she was assuming it was a ship) literally dropping in on their heads. "Get us out of here!"

* * *

Battlestar _Galactica _- CIC - Above ZAFT invasion fleet

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ron laughed like a maniac over the Comm. To say he was enjoying himself was an understatement. To say he was also pissing off Tigh was also an understatement. Gaeta looked at Adama as the ship plummeted toward the Pacific Ocean. "Angels 100 and falling like a rock!" He warned.

"Stand by FTL!" Adama ordered, and Ron nodded from the FTL console. "Jump is plotted!" He said, "On your command, Admiral!"

Outside, _Galactica_ was closing in on the ZAFT fleet. At less then 300 feet above the waterline, Adama gave the order. "JUMP!" Ron turned the jump key, and _Galactica_ jumped away. The superheated gases from _Galactica's _crash dive, coupled with the 150 meter distortion created by the FTL jump, lifted dozens of ZAFT surface warships out of the water, breaking them in half and even sinking two of their _Vosgulov_-Class submarines.

* * *

ZAFT _Minerva_-Class Battleship LHM-BB02 _Fortuna _- Bridge

* * *

"Would someone tell me what the FUCK just happened?!" Captain Vincennes shouted. No one answered their captain as the _Fortuna_ righted herself. "Report!"

"Half the surface fleet's gone!" The sensor Operator announced, "Whatever that thing did-"

Then giant railgun rounds hit another cruiser, destroying it. Maria followed its' trajectory and found the source. The shark from hell was cruising out of a cloud bank, firing its' forward railguns.

'_How did they do that?_' She asked, '_One moment they were right over our heads, and the next they're in the clouds! A ship that size couldn't move that quickly without some sort of teleportation device! No one has that kind of tech!_'

Suddenly, the vessel began launching Fighter Aircraft and Mobile Suits which looked very similar to Murasames, yet different. The Captain cursed, they didn't have the force to fight back these odds. "Tell all forced to pull back!" She ordered, "We don't stand a chance against that... that thing!"

High-energy beams cut the _Fortuna_ off from escaping. "New contact!" The Operator warned, "It's the _Archangel_!"

"What the hell?" She shouted, "When did they get here? Better yet, how the hell did that thing survive Berlin?!"

"Don't know-Fuck, another contact!" The Operator cursed "Fuck me! It's the Minerva!" They were surrounded on all sides by three powerful warships. They were going to get slaughtered!

"Ma'am, I've got an ID on the shark thing!" The Operator announced.

"Well, don't keep it to yourself!"

"It's IDed as...the Battlestar _Galactica_?" He said, and Maria glanced at the giant warship as it fired at the ZAFT fleet and its' fighters took out anything it missed. The ZAKUs and GOUFs were getting raped by the Murasume copies, and if Maria had any doubts that the _Galactica_ could easily destroy the _Fortuna_, they were quickly banished. "We've only got one option: we fight!" She said, "All hands, Level One Battle Stations! Target the Battlestar _Galactica_!"

* * *

Ex-ZAFT Battleship LHM-BB01 _Minerva _- Brig

* * *

Rey Za Burrel waited for his chance to escape the cell he was in and help the ZAFT forces he KNEW were outside fighting and got his chance when the guard was killed by a support girder. He took the key from the dead guard, unlocked the cell and made his way out of the brig, heading for the hangers. While almost all of the Mobile Suits were gone, there was one left: the ZGMF-X666S Legend.

Everyone was helter skelter, running across the deck in a panic, so no one would notice him getting into the cockpit until it was too late. He quickly made it to the MS, climbed up the leg and got into the cockpit. When it shut, THEN everyone knew something was wrong. "GET DOWN!" someone yelled and everyone hit the deck when Rey fired at the hanger walls, blowing a hole in the ship's hull. "Rey Za Burrel, in Legend, taking off!" The Legend's thrusters kicked in and launched the ZAFT MS forward and into the fight. "This is Rey Za Burrel to all ZAFT forces! I've stolen a Mobile Suits from the _Minerva_! Patch me into your commanding officer!"

"_This is Captain Maria Vincennes of the _Fortuna!" Came the reply, "_Would you mind explaining just what the fuck is going on?!_"

"There's no time!" Ray shouted, as A trio of beam rifle rounds passed by the Legend's bulky form. Three Colonial-controlled Mobile Suits (the Freedom, Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice) had just shot at him, knowing that he was NOT friendly. "Kira Yamato." He growled, "You are going to be a pain to get rid of."

* * *

Earth orbit

* * *

To say call what was happening between the Colonial forces and the ZAFT reinforcements a battle would be overselling it. Even calling it a slaughter would be generous. Vipers, supported by Mobile Suits, were tearing the ZAFT ships apart.

Let's back up a little bit and find out how this got started. Ten _Nazca_-Class destroyers were sent in to find out what happened to the ships supporting Operation Fury. They ran into the _Eternal_, the Junk Guild task force and, most importantly, _Pegasus_.

Please note that _Pegasus_ is still commanded by Rear Admiral Helena 'KILL THEM ALL!' Cain. When the _Eternal_ picked up the ZAFT fleet on her sensors, Lacus (in her cute, naive way) wanted to talk them down and make them leave by words alone. Cain, in her eternally PMSing way, also wanted them gone.

The difference? Cain just wanted to kill everything that got in her way. And kill she did. Three of the _Nazcas_ didn't even have time to react as _Pegasus_ opened fire on them and destroyed them.

"That bitch just won't stop!" Jaden shouted, as he disarmed a ZAFT ZAKU Phantom "They're retreating! What the fuck is WRONG with her?!"

Suddenly, he watched as the _Pegasus's_ cannons turned and gunned down another _Nazca-_class, however this one's weapons had already been disabled, and could no longer fight. But Cain still gunned down the defenseless target. "HEY!" Jaden shouted, "That ship couldn't even fight back! What the hell are you doing?" He didn't get an answer. In fact, _Pegasus_, her Vipers and Mobile Suits didn't even send messages to her support ships.

"_She's not showing any mercy._" Amy said, and at that moment, another ship appeared on sensors, and Jaden was relieved to see it was the _Legacy_. They had problems with their FTL drive (yet another problem that the ship had) and couldn't join them until now. "Admiral Avalonia, this is Commander Takeo!" Jaden shouted, "You've got to stop _Pegasus!_ She's-"

"_In charge of this operation._" The Admiral said with a sigh "_I'm sorry, but that's the way it is._" _Pegasus _gunned down yet another _Nazca_, which was retreating.

"She's shooting ships that aren't even fighting back!" Jaden shouted, "They're not fucking Cylons that can resurrect, they're humans!"

"_And Cain doesn't care._" He answered, "_She sees them as obstacles to her mission and is destroying them for that reason alone. That's why Bill put her in charge. He knew I would be too sentimental._"

"Bullshit!" Jaden shouted, "We didn't need Cain to go on a fucking _rampage _on ZAFT! This ain't a battle, this is just a fucking slaughter now!"

"_Believe me, Bill didn't want her in command either, but that's reality._" The Admiral said.

"Then why put her in command in the _first _place?" Jaden asked. "_Because we would try to talk them down first, and that would have cost us lives and equipment._" The Admiral said.

The last two remaining _Nazcas _finally got the hell out of there, getting outside of _Pegasus' _weapons range. "Thank God." Jaden muttered "She can't-" Then _Pegasus_ launched a missile toward them, and every non-Colonial human gaped. "She's using fucking _nukes_?!" Jaden shouted.

"_Hold on, Jaden!_" Matt said, "_Those_ Nazcas _have N-Jammers! They might-_" The missile exploded in a ball of nuclear hellfire. "_They've got N-Jammer Cancellers?!_"

_That _was the last straw from Jaden "Okay... _that _fucking tears it!" Jaden shouted, "Admiral, I don't care if Adama put her in command, _that _was just flat out Murder!"

"_You attack_ Pegasus, _that means we have to fire on you!_" He warned, "_Besides..._" _Pegasus_ jumped away, heading back to Io. "Adama and I will deal with her."

Jaden's eyes narrowed "She had better be, Admiral." He said, as he received a message from his parent's flagship, and the _Eternal _"My parents just sent me a message, and they are _not _happy with her display. If she isn't dealt with _permanently, _you are going to lose your alliance with the Junk Guild, Three Ships Alliance, Serpent Tail, _and _Terminal."

"_Understood. I'll inform the Admiral._"

* * *

Battlestar _Galactica_ - CIC - Over Orb

* * *

"She WHAT?!" Adama shouted, causing everyone within CIC to flinch as his grip on the phone tightened.

"_She slaughtered the ZAFT fleet sent to reinforce the ships over Orb._" The CCE Admiral said, "_Ten of those _Nazca_-Class destroyers, and opened fire on several vessels that had been disabled and were defenseless. On top of that she used a NUKE for the last two that were retreating!_"

Adama fumed. "I did NOT give her permission to use nuclear weapons!" He growled.

"_Be that as it may, the Junk Guild is PISSED._" The Admiral said, "_They're saying if she isn't dealt with permanently, they withdraw their support, and so will Terminal, Three Ships Alliance, and Serpent Tail._"

"We'll deal with Cain later, Zeus!" Adama said, "Right now-" _Galactica_ rocked from weapons fire. "We have bigger problems! That clone prisoner, Za Burrel, escaped from the _Minerva_ and took one of their Mobile Suits!"

"What? When-"

"Two minutes ago!" Adama said, "Kira, Athrun and Lunamaria are trying to keep him away from our Vipers and Darts, but they're having a hard time with the bastard! Hell, Ron took off in the Proto-Dart to help, and if that's not a sign we're desperate, I don't know what is!" _Galactica_ shook from another volley of weapons fire, this time from the _Fortuna_. "Batteries Alpha through Echo, target that fraking ship and KILL IT!" He ordered, the _Fortuna_ was REALLY pissing Adama off.

On the _Fortuna, _the bridge shook from another series of hits from the _Galactica _and its ships '_Damn we don't __stand a chance here!_' Captain Vincennes thought, '_Our forces are falling apart because of that giant warship!_' The Admiral that was in charge of the operation had been killed, and that left Maria as the senior commander of the invasion now.

"Send word to all ZAFT Forces, we need to get out of here before we're completely overrun!" She ordered, "Tell Za Burrel to cover our retreat and fall back with us! We're heading back to Carpentaria!"

Ray was still fighting everyone off at once, using the Legend's DRAGOON units, even if he couldn't launch them he could still fire them. Suddenly he got the orders from the Captain. His eyes narrowed, but he realized she was correct '_ZAFT doesn't stand a chance in this fight,_' he thought, '_We need to fall back before the entire force is blown away._'

With that last thought, Ray launched a wave of Beams towards Ron's Proto-Dart, and the Strike Freedom, forcing them to back off before he accelerated the Legend towards the _Fortuna,_ which was turning around and limping away, while what was left of the ZAFT invasion force quickly followed suit.

"_They're running._" Kira said.

"_No shit they're running._" Adama said on the wireless, "_I just got a call from the _Legacy. _Cain blew up an entire ZAFT fleet up there: even used a nuke on damaged retreating units! I guess they're afraid we'll do the same thing._"

"_Wait a second!_" Ron said, "_I thought Cain didn't have permission to use nukes!"_

"_She didn't._" Adama said, "_The Junk Guild is pissed off along with everyone else who took part in the orbital battle. Now I have to deal with them AND Cain!_" Everyone snarled in disgust. The ONLY reason that Cain still had her command was that they needed every flag officer they had. Now she had crossed the line.

Luna came up with a good idea. "Admiral, should we hand her over to the Junk Guild? I mean, they're the one who are being most vocal." "_A good idea, but she's still in deep shit with us, Hibu_." Luna looked at the Proto-Dart and winced. It had taken the brunt of Rey's attacks (the clone did NOT like him at all) and was on the verge of falling apart. "_Representative Athha, this is Admiral Adama. have you dealt with that idiot Seiran yet_?" "_He was killed by a Viper when it was shot down_." "_Karma's a bitch, just like my mother_." The left leg fell off at last. "_Frak. Can I land this thing, Actual_?" "Permission granted."

* * *

Battlestar _Pegasus _- Brig - Earth orbit - 1 hour later

* * *

Cain, on orders from Adama, had jumped back to Earth, but didn't expect getting clapped in irons the moment Adama came on board. "Admiral, I am NOT happy with you." Adama growled out, "I gave you explicit orders!"

"You ordered me to deal with the ZAFT forces as I saw fit." Cain defended, but Adama shot her the glare which shut her up.

"I did not order you to fire on defenseless hulks that couldn't move!" He said, his voice rising, "I didn't order you to destroy them outright! I DID NOT TELL YOU TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS!"

Cain flinched under Adama's unholy Glare. Adama was pissed off, and not in the mood to deal with Cain. "I'm giving you to the Junk Guild." He said, "They want to try you for war crimes. I can't say I blame them: I'm tempted to do the same. But as of this moment..." He tore off her dogtags. "You are not an officer in this Fleet! Marines!" Two of Pegasus' Razors turned to the Fleet Admiral. "Take her to a Raptor and send her to the _Hell Vulture_."

They took her away, and outside the cell was Jack Fisk, acting commander of _Pegasus_. "Admiral-"

"Don't even start, Fisk!" Adama snapped "You're not command material, either. In fact, this won't be a Colonial warship soon. I'm giving her to the Orb military. Maybe she'll be in better hands!"

Adama left the brig, and Fisk was left to wonder what was going to happen to _Pegasus' _crew. "Understood, sir."

* * *

Aprilius One - 24 hours later

* * *

Gilbert Durandal looked at the footage that was sent from the _Fortuna_. '_Shark from hell, indeed._' He thought to himself. It beat the shit out of the ZAFT fleet, its' Mobile Suits (based on the Murasame, but taking elements from the Strike and the Savior) beat the shit out of any ZAFT MS and the ship (the name was Battlestar _Galactica_, from what he had learned) had VERY thick armor. So thick, most of the _Fortuna's_ weapons were useless against it.

'_Still, I have Rey and the Legend back_.' He thought, '_Pity Djibril got away._'

"Mr. Chairman, we're picking up a transmission from Orb." His assistant said, "Seems to be an announcement from Representative Athha."

Durandal rose an eyebrow "Didn't she go missing?" He asked, before he sighed "Very well. Show me."

A few moments later, the Computer screen in front of him changed to that of Cagalli Yula Attha, sitting behind a desk wearing the Orb Commanders uniform.

"_Fellow people of Orb, and of the world._" She said, "_This is Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Attha. I once again stand before you, my people, as the leader of Orb. I know much has changed, and I have been gone for some time. However I once again stand before you, and I have removed the Seiran Family from power, who were running our nation to the ground with their so-called alliance with the Earth Forces._"

"_In my absence, Orb has made many bad decisions. However those will now come to an end, as we work to correct the mistakes my... predecessors made during their brief time in office._" She continued, "_Upon my return, I found my own nation attacked by ZAFT, who I once thought of as an ally before my absence. But the invasion has failed, and now Orb stands independent and free once again from ZAFT, and the Earth Forces._"

"_I understand their reasoning for attacking,_" Cagalli said, "_The Serians lied about Lord Djibril hiding in our nation, _without _my approval, or the approval of the other Noble Families. But this does not excuse them for invading us because one of our families were, quite frankly, idiots. But I will inform ZAFT that Lord Djibril is no longer in Orb, as he has escaped into space. However he will not get away so easily, as I am issuing orders __for all Orb forces to find Djibril so he may answer for his crimes, and we shall do so with the aid of our new allies._"

Durandal rose an eyebrow at that "Allies?" He asked. And at that moment, an older man wearing a navy blue uniform and glasses walked into view. "_Good day, people of Earth._" The man said, "_My name is William Adama, Fleet Admiral of the 12 Colonies of Kobol Defense Fleet._" Durandal was NOT liking where this was going. "_5 months ago, we encountered the _Archangel _and _Minerva _after their battle in Berlin. They ended up across the galaxy, almost directly in our path._"

NOW he knew why he didn't like it. "_We are from the 12 Colonies of Kobol, where humanity was born._" He continued "_I will not give you all the details, but in the time we have known one another, we have been steadfast allies, defending one another from our common enemy, the Cylons. We will NOT tolerate an attack upon our allies. As of this moment, a state of war exist between the 12 Colonies, ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. If you do not wish to fight us, stand down your forces and meet with us in Orb. If you will fight, then you WILL be defeated._"

Durandal paled at the idea that Adama had more then ONE of those Battlestars. '_He's also got the assistance of the Orb military if he REALLY needs it._' He thought '_I don't want to admit it, but I think we're screwed._'

"Hack into that transmission." He ordered, "I think it's time Meer made another appearance."

"Aye, sir. We're on it!" If Meer could turn the people against Orb, then Adama and Athha would lose any support they had. Seconds later, Meer Campbell's image appeared on the screen. Of course, she looked like Lacus, but really, could anyone tell the difference?

* * *

Orb Battlestar _Pegasus _- same time

* * *

The CCE field marshal scoffed as he typed like a madman on a computer. "What an idiot." He muttered to himself. Adama and Roslin both thought either Djibril or Durandal would pull something like this, so they asked Ron to perform counter-hacking operations. "_People of the Earth Sphere, please heed my words-_"

"Shut up, you plastic bimbo." He muttered as he hit the enter key, and Meer disappeared, replaced by Cagalli, Adama and the REAL Lacus. "I love my job."

"_Hello, everyone._" Lacus said, "_My name is Lacus Clyne._"

* * *

Aprilius One - same time

* * *

"Son of a BITCH!" Gilbert cursed. While he saluted Adama and Cagalli for getting the feedback, he cursed them for screwing with him YET AGAIN.

"_The people of the 12 Colonies are simply scared, as they lost their homes less then half a year ago._" Lacus said, "_When we appeared in their path, they saw us as a ray of hope._"

"Get the line back!" Gilbert ordered.

"On it, sir!"

* * *

Orb Battlestar Pegasus - CIC

* * *

"Commander, we've got another hacking attempt!"

Ron just smirked as he rolled his eyes "Hack _this_, Durandal." He said, and the CCE field marshal began hacking back, and while the ZAFT technicians were good, Ron outhacked the Cylons. And NO ONE could outhack them!

"_Can we turn them away simply because of one action?_" Lacus continued "_They came to help defend this beautiful country from ZAFT, who came for ONE man. They nearly destroyed Orb for one man. Thousands, perhaps millions of people could have died from such careless actions._"

"Keep talking, girly." Ron said, "Give me time to make Durandal have a few heart attacks!" He completed the virus and uploaded it into the ZAFT military network. Their C3 would be in RUINS.

"Thank you, Lacus." Ron said, "Your ability to turn air into useless words actually saved us some trouble."

"What's your problem with Lacus?" Ron turned and saw Jaden walk into the CIC, Orb had asked the Junk Guild to help inspect the _Pegasus _and its process of refitting it with modern Orb tech. "She's doing pretty good, this speech of hers should sway more people to our side. Resistance groups in the USSA and other nations that the E.A took over will start fighting back, and nations that declared support to ZAFT will begin rethinking their allegiances and side with Orb."

"Words don't solve anything, kid." Ron said, "As much as I hate to say it, Cain had the right idea during that debacle over Orb. Problem is, she took it WAY too far."

Jaden shook his head "You underestimate what words can do, Ron." He said, "Trust me, some of the greatest speeches had lead humanity on earth through the toughest times and darkest hours. World War II, the Cold War, and even here in the Bloody Valentine Wars. Cylons are one thing from what I have heard of them, but humans are different from Cylons. Its easier to reason with a human than a computer."

"Well, I'd jaded." Ron said shrugging, "Actions always speak louder to me. Besides, I've got a ship to refit." Ron was using his experience with the _Athena_ to give _Pegasus_ ventral and dorsal cannons. He was also trying to mix KEW weapons and high-energy weaponry into one unit to save space.

"Yeah," Jaden said, "I gotta admit though, the tech behinds these Battlestar's is amazing!" He smirked a bit "I might be able to move ahead one of my own projects with this."

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"Working on a new Battleship design, make a new Flagship for the Junk Guild," He said, handing him a Handheld Computer which showed the image of a five-kilometer long spaceship "Five Kilometers long, enough armaments and Mobile Weapons to lay waste to a small nation, _and _Atmospheric Flight capabilities. It was all just theories and prototype specs, but your tech may jump its development by _years._"

Ron looked at the design. "I'm going to be giving you a Raptor." He said, "That way, we can work on this thing on the _Athena_. _Pegasus_, or rather _Izanami_, is too...unsuited for design work."

Jaden blinked "_Izanami_?" He asked.

"The Orb Space Fleet's decided to rename the ship." He said, "I have to make sure they don't blow it up before then." Ron left CIC, and Jaden followed him out.

"Say, I heard you designed this ship." He said, "Is that true?"

"I designed almost every military ship in the Colonial Fleet." Ron said, "What's your point?"

"Aside from the fact that if you weren't in CCE, the Junk Guild would be begging on their hands and knees for you to join?" Jaden asked with a small chuckle "Heck, my parents asked me to see if I could get you to become an honorary member of the Guild. Even if you don't, they want to begin a permanent alliance with CCE, and start trading technical know-how between us, help one another out."

"Well, I'm not one for words." Ron said, "Like I said, actions. SHOW me that that this is what you guys want. Then I'll think about it. Until then, I have a new ship to design."

"New ship?" Jaden asked curiously.

"I'm mixing what little I know about Earth technology with the _Mercury_-Class Battlestar, but I'm adding dorsal and ventral turrets to it." He explained, "It may be powerful, but it doesn't have the omnidirectional firepower of a _Galactica_-Class Battlestar."

"Maybe we can help you out there," Jaden said, "Junk Guild knows _all _there is to know about modern Earth Technology, we can toss you a few of our own designs." He smirked a bit "I think I can give you the specs to my Helium-3 Reactor, as well as try and instal the same type Lightwave Barrier shields the _Hell Vulture _has for some added protection."

"This is a production warship, not a one-off." Ron said, "This ship is serving as the effectual prototype. But the new ship will be the first new-build Battlestar since the Fall."

"Thought of a name?" Jaden asked, and he nodded. "I have." Ron said. "I took it from your star charts. The North Star. _Polaris_."

"The _Polaris-_class Battlestar..." Jaden said, before he smiled "I like it!"

"Then tell your parents we have a deal." Ron said, "And I wasn't kidding about that Raptor. Take 264. Chief Laird will tell you where it is."

"Thanks," Jaden said, "And I think this is the beginning of a very great and fruitful friendship between us, the Junk Guild, _and _CCE. May the E.A, ZAFT and Cylons tremble in fear against our combined might!"

"Kid, I think you need to stop reading comic books." Ron said as he walked off, leaving Jaden behind as the field marshal headed for his own Raptor. But Jaden didn't see the small smirk on his face. '_This kid is gonna __make things interesting,_'

* * *

Battlestar _Galactica_ (over Orb) - Adama's Quarters - 6 hours later

* * *

_Galactica_ had just had her matter/antimatter reactor replaced, the makeshift beam cannons were replaced with Gottfrieds and the CIWS turrets were all now 75mm Igelstellung guns. Of course, the shell-firing KEW cannons were hybridized to fire both beam rounds and conventional ordnance. Believe me when I say it was a ROYAL BITCH to get it to work right. In fact, Ron had been working on it for MONTHS. "_Galactica's_ going to be delivering a lot of pain to the ZAFT fleet, but it's Daedalus Crater that worries me." Ron said as Adama looked at the photos of the base provided by the Blackbird. "It's an Earth Alliance military base, Commander." He said.

"A base that has a giant hatch that would fit a _Galactica_-Class Battlestar, and the Alliance doesn't have ANYTHING that big." Ron said shaking his head "No, it's got to be a weapon of some sort."

"A weapon?" Adama asked "Commander, Earth's come up with some odd things-"

"Mobile Suits being one of them."

"But there is no way this thing could be dangerous."

Kira took in a breath. "Admiral, the Alliance wouldn't build this just to grandstand." He said, "It's got a purpose."

Adama looked at Ron. "Thank you, Commander, but the plan is still a go." He said, "We're attacking Althea Crater in 12 hours. Phantom Pain needs to be brought into the light for the world to judge." Tales from the Extended pilots that escaped Phantom Pain about Althea Crater, where the Extended program was now based, sickened Adama.

Jaden looked at the image, and shook his head "I've got a bad feeling about this..." he said, before he sighed "But, its your decision sir. Hopefully once we take Althea, we can attack Daedalus and blow that thing up before the E.A does anything with it."

"Well, the Alliance is about to learn the power of a Battlestar Dreadnought." Ron said, "The _Macon_ will be joining us on this op."

"_Macon_?" Jaden asked.

"It's one of our _Zeus_-Class Battlestar Dreadnoughts." Ron said smirking "90 kilometers of flying DEATH."

Jaden blinked before he grinned "Nice," he said. "Can't wait to see it in action!"

"Good, because I'm taking command of her during the operation, and if you're coming along, you're parking your asses on board her." Ron said, and the CCE field marshal saluted the Fleet Admiral, then left.

"He's an odd man, isn't he?" Jaden asked.

"He's almost literally seen it all and lived through it all." Adama said, "Dismissed, gentlemen."

* * *

Junk Guild tender _ReHOME _- 1 hour later

* * *

Lowe Guele was watching the news. While it was usually boring, this was interesting, because it involved one of those Battlestar things. "_Leaked information from ZAFT included this footage, given to this network exclusively._" The newsman said as the image of a massive, well-armored warship beating the shit out of a fleet of _Nazca_-Class destroyers appeared on the screen. "_Unconfirmed sources have identified the vessel as a _'Mercury_-Class' Battlestar, meaning there are more then one. This vessel is the Battlestar_ Pegasus, _formally under the command of Rear Admiral Helena Cain. The woman has since been dismissed from her post due to her unauthorized use of nuclear weapons._"

Lowe raised an eyebrow as the footage showed _Pegasus_ firing a missile at two retreating _Nazcas_ before the missile exploded in a nuclear fireball. "_Unconfirmed sources within both the Orb Union and the Junk Guild have told us that this vessel has been given to the Orb Space Fleet, and is being refit. Back to you, Sonja._"

"_Thanks._" Sonja said as the screen switched back to that of the news station "_There are only two confirmed Battlestars in existence. The more famous one was seen flying over Orb, defending the nation from a ZAFT invasion. It has been confirmed that the ship is named _Galactica, _and is the flagship of the Colonial Fleet_." Footage from the failed invasion of Orb was then played, and it showed _Galactica _performing its' power dive toward the ZAFT fleet before it jumped.

Lowe's eyes widened "Whoa!" He said as he grinned "That's awesome!"

"_We have no idea HOW _Galactica _did this, but leading scientists have theorized that _Galactica _and _Pegasus _are equipped with a faster than light drive_." The reporter said, and Lowe decided that he would pester any Colonial he ran into. He WANTED one of those FTL drives! "_We have managed to get an interview with a leading officer in the Colonial Fleet: a Colonel Jack Fisk, former XO of the Battlesta_r Pegasus." Lowe chuckled. He found his target.

* * *

Althea Crater - 0650 hours

* * *

Brigadier General Gendo Ikari scowled as he read the reports. His wayward Extended (and his only child, but that was meaningless to him) had been found. He had been trying to make the ultimate warrior for over a decade, and his son was the closest thing they had. Instead of making him feel fear, his block word made him unstoppable in combat.

If they got him back and put him in a Destroy, then the Alliance would retake Earth once and for all. Of course, his thoughts were broken when the facility rocked from weapons fire. "_General, we're under attack!_" A voice said on the comm.

Gendo's eyes narrowed "By who?!" He demanded.

"_It's the _Gal-" But then static filled the room as the base rocked from another barrage. He only knew ONE ship starting with that. The Colonial Fleet was attacking his facility.

* * *

Above Althea Crater (Play Counterattack from Gundam 00)

* * *

From the bridge of the _Hell Vulture_, Jaden chuckled at the sight before him. _Galactica _gave new meaning to the word Blitzkrieg. "It's like it's plowing the fucking moon with bullets!" He said.

Jaden had decided not to join Ron on the _Macon_ and instead brought the _Hell Vulture_ into the fray. While _Galactica_ was smaller than _Pegasus/Izanami_, she was still more heavily armed than any Earth Alliance, ZAFT or Orb warship.

Any Mobile Suit unlucky enough to get in the way of the Battlestar's main guns was instantly destroyed. Even the Zamza-Zah and Gells-Ghe Mobile Armors that were sent up to defend the base were cut down by _Galactica's _massive 600cm main guns. Even the few that had managed to activate their lightwave shields were destroyed as the shield just couldn't take the sheer kinetic force.

'_Is this what Ron meant by us not standing a chance?_' he thought to himself.

"Ok, people." Jaden said too the crew of the _Hell Vulture _"Adama's not going to pull what Cain pulled and just blow everything up. So work with the Colonials, and let's take this place down! Once we evacuate all of the prisoners and extendeds inside, _then _we blow this base up!"

"Jaden, _Galactica's _launching Vipers and I think they're getting their Mobile Suits on the catapults." Crossak said, just as Twenty Darts took off from _Galactica's_ flight pods, followed by the massive 90 kilometer long _Macon _jumping in from above.

Jaden smirked "Oh, you're in for a WORLD of pain E.A!" He said, turning to Crossak "Keep the _Vulture _stealthed, and launch the Mobile Suits!" He ordered, "We're not letting the Colonials have all the fun!" He then turned to leave the bridge "You have the Bridge Cross."

* * *

Battlestar _Galactica_ - CIC

* * *

"I'd pity the bastards if I didn't hate them so much." Adama said. As per usual, _Galactica_ was kicking the shit out of EVERYTHING. Her Darts (all fit with Striker Packs of varying types thanks to the Orb Union) were slaughtering the Phantom Pain 105 Daggers and Windams and the Vipers were knocking out the base defenses.

In the years after the First Bloody Valentine War, the Alliance had focused on anti-MS defense instead of anti-fighter. As such, the small, one-man fighters were beating the crap out of the fixed base defense emplacements. "Macon _Actual to all Darts: if those PP MSs are carrying Striker Packs, I want them intact!_" Ron said on the Comm. Adama chuckled as the CCE Field Marshal barked at the Dart teams over the wireless.

"Admiral, the _Eternal_ just jumped in and _Pegasus-er, Izanami _is four kilometers out." Gaeta reported.

"Tell the _Eternal_ to cover I_zanami_." Adama ordered, "She still doesn't have Mobile Suits." Dualla got to work.

"Admiral, picking up a MASSIVE contact!" Gaeta said, before he cursed "Oh, frak me! It's a Destroy!"

Adama narrowed his eyes. The Alliance was deploying a Destroy to stop them? '_Shows how desperate they are._' He thought before he barked out an order "_Macon, Galactica _Actual. Target the Destroy."

"_Oh, I'm going to enjoy this, Admiral!_" Ron said. While the Destroy was heavily armed and armored, the _Macon _had more powerful guns then _Galactica_, and If _Galactica_ could punch through the lightwave shields on a Gells-Ghe, then the _Macon _would have ZERO trouble taking on and out a Destroy.

"Admiral, the base is launching out more of those Mobile Armors." Gaeta said, "Orders?"

"Take them out!"

* * *

Shinji Ikari's GAT-X105E+AQME-X09S Strike Noir

* * *

Shinji didn't want to come back to Althea, but his bastard of a father HAD to be dealt with. '_I'm not running away._' He thought, as the Strike Noir hovered over the lunar surface, looking for a target. And when Shinji had to dodge a pair of beam rounds, he found it in a YMAG-X7F Gells-Ghe. "_So, boy, you've returned._" A voice said, and Shinji's eyes widened at the sound of his father's voice. "_What is a USELESS little boy like you doing back here?_"

Gendo clearly forgot something. Shinji's block word...was 'useless'.

(Play Banshee from Gundam Unicorn here)

Shinji roared over the radio as he charged the Gells-Ghe. A pair of Sword Windams tried to get in his way, but Shinji simply tore them apart with his beam knives before stealing one of their anti-ship swords. And Gendo knew right then and there that this wasn't going to end well. Every time that the Strike E was given a Sword Pack, Shinji destroyed EVERYTHING with it.

Above them, Asuka sighed. "Why does everyone say his block word?" She asked, "I mean, everyone KNOWS what I need to do to just to calm him down."

"_The bastard did it on purpose, Red._" Mari said.

"Shut up, Makinami!" She shouted, as Asuka hacked another Slaughter Dagger in half as she watched _Macon_ duel with the Destroy. All of her 1500cm cannons were firing on the massive Mobile Weapon, and most of the shots were getting through, much to everyone's surprise. The Destroy finally crumpled, simply unable to take any more hits, and finally exploded.

"_Scratch one Destroy!_" Ron shouted on the Comm, "_Take that you E.A Bastards!_"

Jaden in the Strike Aka smirked as he saw the Destroy fall before the _Macon's_ firepower "He didn't know what hit him," he said. "Striker Team, Gwaze team, begin the attack on the H.Q of the base! Let's get this battle over with!"

Their sensors blared out a warning as a ship suddenly appeared. Jaden realized that it was a ship using an FTL drive, but he didn't know what it was, and the Colonials weren't bringing in anymore ships to support the attack. _Galactica_ alone was overkill. _Izanami_ and _Macon_ just rubbed salt into an already infected wound.

Then, Ron's voice echoed through the comm "_Son of a bitch!_" He shouted "_It's a Cylon Baseship!_" Jaden vectored the Strike Aka to look at the Baseship in question, but was VERY confused. It looked like the same ones that attacked them less then a week before, but the lower set of arms were MUCH shorter than the top ones.

"_That's the same ship that attacked us three months ago!_" A voice shouted, and Jaden looked at the pink Verde Buster as it fired on the Baseship. The shots connected, and Mari's angry shots were rewarded. With many, MANY angry Cylon Raiders. "What the hell?" Jaden said, "They look like-"

"_Flying wings?_" Jaden blinked at Ron's question, but nodded. "Yeah, they do." He said.

"_Frak me._" He cursed, "_War-Era Raiders! Works of art, those._"

"Galactica _to all players: kill that Baseship!_" Adama ordered, and the _Izanami_ turned on the Baseship, ready to fire its' new hybrid cannons at the Baseship and destroy it. "Wait, shouldn't we-" Jaden began.

"_We're at war with them, kid._" Ron said, "_Let us fight it our way. But if you want to board it, don't let me stop you._" The Vipers turned toward the Baseship's Raiders, creating a deadly furball. "Macon _MarDet Team, you are clear to begin your assault on the facility._" Adama said, and over a dozen of Macon's _Raptors_ took off and began their approach to Althea.

Meanwhile, Shinji was tearing the Gells-Ghe apart. "DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE!" He shouted continuously. The shield on the Mobile Armor was long since gone, and the Strike Dagger torso was missing its' two arms. "_Without me, you're nothing, boy!_" Gendo shouted, "_With-_"

Shinji shut him up by stabbing the sword into the Mobile Armor and into the cockpit, killing the bastard instantly. However, there was a problem. Shinji was in 'KILL ANYTHING THAT MOVED' mode. He was a danger to everything. But Gendo, dead man that he was, was not stupid. This was proven when Asuka's Rosso Aegis clamped onto the Strike Noir, shutting the multirole machine down.

Of course, Shinji's bloodlust needed to be sated. But Asuka was the perfect way to calm him down. All she had to do was let him have her. Sex took the kid down and kept him down until his block word was used again.

* * *

Battlestar Galactica - CIC

* * *

"Admiral, Marine Teams are overtaking the facility." Dualla reported, "Althea's ours."

Adama nodded "Very well." He said. "Tell them to begin evacuating all of the children inside, once we've cleared this place, we're nuking it."

"Admiral, Commander Takeo is requesting to board the Baseship." Dualla said, and Adama scowled. "If the Commander wants to commit suicide, let him." He said.

"Commander Pinkerton is requesting to escort him." She continued, and Adama shook his head. "Grant his request."

* * *

Raptor 212 - En-Route to Baseship

* * *

A Raptor launched from the _Hell Vulture, _which carried Jaden, Ron, and an entire squad of men and women armed too the teeth. Jaden had told Ron they were members of the Junk Guild who use to be part of ZAFT Special Forces or Earth Forces Marines.

"I hope you know what you're doing kid," Ron said, "Trust me when I say, Cylons are not as easy to take down as you may think. Centurions have thick armor only Armor-piercing and Explosive rounds could penetrate."

"Energy Weapons?" Jaden asked suddenly, causing Ron to blink "Excuse me?" He asked.

"What about Energy Weapons?" He repeated, but Ron shook his head. "No... there's no way their armor is set against Energy or beam weapons... but why-" Jaden suddenly picked up a Rifle, which reminded Ron of a Colonial G36K, only more smooth and streamlined "Huh?"

Jaden smirked "This baby is the M8BR Assault Rifle," he said, "A new design us in Junk Guild have begun fielding a few months ago. We found out how to miniaturize Beam and Energy weapons too more Small arm infantry standards, so Infantry can use energy weapons on heavily armored forces, since we've heard the E.A have begun weaponizing Exoskeletons for infantry use, and ZAFT wasn't far behind. We based the frame off of an older pre-CE weapon, the XM8 and its variants. We've got the M8BR, the standard Assault Rifle and Carbine variants that has 30 shots per E-Cap, a Sharpshooter Variant with 20 rounds that can blast through two meters of Titanium Alloy, and a Light Machine Gun variant with 90 rounds a clip. We also have an SMG Variant with 35 Rounds per clip. You think these will work?"

"Centurions wouldn't stand a chance in hell against any beam weapons." Ron said with a smirk "Especially not the 0005s." Ron pulled out his chosen weapon for the operation. While he would have preferred the G36K, the SCAR-H was the only type of assault rifle on board the _Macon_. It was fit with a Masterkey-style shotgun that fired armor-piercing buckshot with a second rail-mounted FN40GN mounted on the left-side barrel rail. While it seemed unwieldy to the Junk Guild personnel, Ron simply pulled out photos of dead bodies. "These people were on _Galactica _when the Cylons boarded her 4 months ago." He said, "The modern Centurions tore them apart. I'd rather have two weapons that fire anti-armor rounds then one."

"We get it, but seriously?" Matthew, who wielded a M8BS Sharpshooter Beam Rifle "A side-rail mounted grenade launcher?"

"Better to be paranoid and prepared then underarmed and dead." He said, and the Raptor touched down outside an airlock, and Ron put a helmet on. "Hold it, you're not wearing a flight suit." Jaden pointed out.

"Yes, I am." Ron retorted, "It's under my uniform." He undid a few buttons to show that he was, indeed, wearing a flight suit under his uniform. "CCE policy: keep a flight suit on at all times. There's a reason for that." He secured the helmet and chuckled as the rest of the volunteers put on their helmets. "It seems that Admiral Adama is going to pull what Cain pulled."

Jaden wondered what the 70 year old man was talking about when the hatch opened and revealed _Galactica_ opening 5 missile doors.

"He's not."

"He is." Five ICBM-sized weapons took off from the missile tubes, and Ron chuckled. "Hope you kids are wearing sunglasses." He said, as all five 60 megaton nuclear warheads exploded just a few hundred feet above Althea Crater, destroying the base. "Good thing I asked the Admiral to strip out anything of use." He said, "I'd like to take a look at what Phantom Pain's MS designers were working on."

"Adama just used FIVE nukes and you're worried about whether or not you're getting a good look at Phantom Pain's toys?!" Amy shouted, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Ron looked at Amy with deadened eyes. "If I'm right about this Baseship," He said "Those nukes are the least of your worries."

* * *

Ron the True Fan: And we touch on _Razor_, without actually touching on _Razor_.

117Jorn: And this chapter is DONE! And we will begin on the next one the moment we have time.

Ron the True Fan: Yes, considering I've got another URE series story that is BEGGING to be written. Yes, people, _Reds and Blues of the Old Republic_ is coming back, better then before. And before we go, a treat. Mobile Suits and warships featured in THAB and LFTW (both stories use the same designs) are below. Enjoy.

* * *

Mobile Weapons and Warships

Mobile Unit: GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kai

Unit Type: Mass Production General-Purpose Mobile Suit

Manufacturer: Junk Guild; Earth Alliance

Operators: Junk Guild; Earth Alliance

Overall Height: 18.02 Meter

Max Weight: 56.22 Metric Tons

Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery Mk-II

Pilot Accommodations: Pilot only, cockpit in torso

Special Equipment and Features: Parachute Pack; Hardpoints for Striker Packs;

Fixed Armaments: 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-Barrel CIWS, fire-linked in head; 2 x ES01 Beam Saber, stored on back behind shoulders, hand carried when in use; 2 x "Armor Schneider" Combat Knives, stored in hips, hand-carried in use;

Optional Fixed Armament:

_AQM/E-X01 Aile Striker:_ (2 x Beam Sabers)

_AQM/E-X02 Sword Striker:_ (1 x "Schwert Gewehr" 15.78 Meter Anti-Ship Sword; "Panzer Eisen" Rocket Anchor; "Midas Messer" Beam Boomerang; )

_AQM/E-X03 Launcher Striker:_ (1 x "Agni" 320mm Hyper Impulse Cannon; 1 x 120mm Anti-Ship Vulcan Gun; 2 x 350mm Gun Launcher;)

_AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Striker:_ (4 x Multipurpose Hardpoints, "Drache" Air-to-Surface Missiles; Mk1323 Unguided Rocket Pods; Mk438 Triple "Würger" Air-to-Air Missile Pods)

Optional Armament: GAU-8M2 52mm machine Gun; M703 57mm Beam Rifle + Grenade Launcher; Shield; Bazooka;

Technical and Historical Notes: After the First Bloody Valentine War, the Earth Alliance began phasing out its GAT-01 Strike Dagger force, in favor of newer more advance 105 Daggers, L2 Daggers, and eventually the Windams. Because of the massive numbers they had been produced during the war and in the short period after the war however, these Machines became surplus, and were sold and found their way in Colony Militias, Independent Organizations, and smaller nations across the earth sphere.

The Junk Guild was one such organization, as many members got their hands on the Strike Daggers, in favor over the older GiNN's. One such purchaser of a Strike Dagger, was Junk Guild member Jaden Takeo. When he gained his Strike Dagger, he saw that the machine was in need of improvement, and thought the E.A were being idiots just selling these machines rather than improving them and keep them in service.

He sought out and upgraded his Strike Dagger, eventually creating a new and improved M.S that would be widely used in the Junk Guild: The GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kai. The Strike Dagger Kai is a round improvement of the Dagger, giving it more weapons and capabilities in combat. The most notable improvements is its addition in armaments: Adding an extra Beam Saber and 75mm CIWS Vulcan gun gave it one good improvement. But Jaden didn't stop there as he proceeded to alter the O.S to allow different weapons, including hip-mounted Anti-Armor Knives like those on the original Strike Gundam, a Bazooka, and a standard Machine Gun. But a major addition were Striker Pack hard points, giving it access to the same Striker Packs used by the Strike Gundam and 105 Daggers.

With these additions, plus improved EM shielding and other system modifications, the Strike Dagger Kai has shown it can easily keep up with a Dagger L, and in the hands of a dedicated pilot, could give a Windam a run for its money. With its debut, it had become a very common sight among the Junk Guild, and even the Earth Alliance had begun using these units for their own purposes, to answer for the demand of more Mobile Suits on the front lines during the Second Bloody Valentine War.

Appearance: Looks like the GAT-01 Strike Dagger, with weapons and gear from the Strike Gundam and other Dagger-series M.S

* * *

Mobile Unit: ZGMF-602F GuAIZ F-Type

Unit Type: Mass Production High-Performance Mobile Suit

Manufacturer: Junk Guild; ZAFT

Operators: Junk Guild; ZAFT

Head Height: 20.24 Meters

Standard Weight: 80.2 Metric Tons

Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery Mk-II

Pilot Accommodations: Pilot only, in cockpit in chest

Special Equipment and Features: Sensors, range unknown;

Fixed Armaments: 2 x MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm CIWS, fire-linked in head; 2 x MA-MV04 Composite Tri-Shield, mounted on Forearms; 2 x MMI-M20S "Pollux IX" Railgun, mounted on hips;

Optional Armament: MA-M21G Beam Rifle;

Technical and Historical Notes: The ZGMF-602F GuAIZ F-Type is another product of Jaden Takeo in the Junk Guild. It was largely based off of both of the GuAIZ series M.S, the original GuAIZ, and the GuAIZ R. Quite simply, the GuAIZ F-Type, or GuAIZ F for short, is a High-Performance mobile suit, much like the original GuAIZ was. The GuAIZ F is a drastically improved M.S compared to the GuAIZ R. Jaden believed the R was a step backwards while the original was 'awesome'. So he took it upon himself to create a revamped GuAIZ.

The GuAIZ F had several additions to its predecessors: The GuAIZ F had two Composite Shields as oppose to one, but they were neither that of the GuAIZ or GuAIZ R. It was a modified version of a GuAIZ's shield, which did not contain two beam sabers each, but three. And if that was not enough, instead of EEQ7R Extensional Arrestors, it has the same Pollux IX Railguns of the GuAIZ R. With these additions plus its Beam Rifle, the GuAIZ F, sometimes called the GuAIZ Fury, was a force to reckon with across the Earth Sphere. These units were first used by the Junk Guild, before ZAFT began buying some and producing them on their own.

Appearance: Looks like the GuAIZ, but with the GuAIZ R's Railguns and two shields on each arm which show three blades instead of one or two.

* * *

Ship Class: _Spitfire_

Ship Type and Role: Support (Anti-missile/fighter)

Ships of the line: _Spitfire, Reisen, Corsair, Pythia_ and at least 80 others

Manufacturer: Colonial Fleet

Operators: Colonial Fleet

Height: 587 meters

Length: 1294 meters

Width: 613 meters

Powerplant: 2 x 30000 kW Tylium thermonuclear reactors

Propulsion: 2 x pod-mounted engines

Armaments: 600 x 55mm turret-mounted CIWS cannons, 40 x 200mm flak guns and 100 x 75mm CIWS cannons on engine pods

Complements: 5 x Raptors

Crew: 600 men, 30 officers, 100 Marines

Technical and Historical Notes: The _Spitfire_-Class was designed as a counter to the Cylon usage of overwhelming numbers of Raiders and missiles after the First Cylon War. When deployed in during the aftermath of the War, testing showed that no matter how many missiles and fighter drones they threw at it, nothing got past the _Spitfire's _AA screen. This and the tonnage of guns got the ship classified as a light cruiser, although the term 'light AA cruiser' is often used. Other then the Battlestars, _Spitfires _are the most sought after postings because of they are easy assignments. They have almost zero armor and can easily be destroyed by a single nuclear device. (See _Law for the Wolves_ Chapter 10 for details)

Appearance: An enlarged _Birmingham_-Class battleship from _Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory _with 50-meter wide engine pods mounted mid-hull

Next Time on _THAB _Ultimate Rewrite Edition: The Junk Guild finds out why the Colonials don't mind nuclear weapons as they explore the Guardian Baseship and LOGOS gets a kick in the ass in the form of the Battlestar _Galactica_.

Ja Ne!


	15. Chapter 14: Crater of the Labyrinth's Ma

**To Hell and Back Ultimate Rewrite Edition**

**Chapter 14: Crater of the Labyrinth's Maker/Return of the Ones**

**Ron the True Fan: Good day, everyone. Once more, we're back with THAB URE.**

* * *

**Unidentified Cylon Baseship - Access way 2-A4**

* * *

Ron led the Junk Guild crew through the Baseship, but what confused them was that he was WALKING, as if he owned the ship. "You're not afraid of the Cylons?" Jaden asked.

"I created the 0005s." Ron said, "Be wary, though: the 6-foot walking chrome toasters aren't what you should be worried about." Amy looked at the Colonial officer as she checked their corners. "What _should _we be worried about?" She asked.

He raised his hand, signalling that they should stop. "Come here, kid." He said, as brother and sister peeked around the corner and spotted a giant 0005H Hellion Centurion. 9 feet tall, with a built-in 12.7mm machine gun and looking like Jason Voorhees minus the machete. "Watch and learn." Ron said.

"What do you mean, watch and-" Jaden was cut off as Ron then rounded the corner, walking up behind the Cylon, then snapping the neck and removing its' head before stabbing it twice in the back with a sharpened titanium knife. He kicked the Hellion in the back, knocking it to the deck.

"Holy shit."Jaden muttered, and the CCE field marshal looked at the Junk Guild commander. "All there is to it." He said.

"You could've just let us shoot it." Amy said but the eldest member of the strike team shook his head. "How naive." He said, "It appears you need a few lessons." Clanking footsteps were heard across the hall. "Another 0005H." Ron said, "You wanted to shoot one. Be my guest." He hid out of sight as another Hellion approached and saw the Junk Guild team. "Ron, you-" Jaden began, before the Hellion opened fire on them, forcing them to take cover.

One of the former Alliance Marines was hit, but not killed. "Ron, you fucking bastard!" Jaden shouted as they opened fire on the Hellion, and while the beams went through the armor plating on the head like a superheated knife through water, it was NOT going down. "What the fuck is WITH this thing?!" Amy shouted, before a loud bang was heard and the head popped off as if it was a bottle cap.

"You kids should've listened to me." Ron's voice said, as they looked around the corner, finding Ron carrying a MASSIVE bolt-action rifle. "What the fuck-" Jaden began "WHERE the fuck-"

"This is the M93 anti-material rifle." Ron said, "It fires .50 caliber rounds and it can punch through the armor on an APC like a finger through water. I had it in my backpack and I reassembled it just in case you had trouble. Which you did."

The Hellion was still standing, and tried to find its' targets using its' backup sensors before Ron stabbed it in the back twice with his anti-Centurion knife. "It's got six backup processors inside the head." Ron explained "Take it off so it can't shoot you, then damage its' battery packs. In short, aim for the neck."

"We could've used that advice two minutes ago!" Jaden shouted. "You wanted to handle it." Ron retorted "So I let you try. Listen to the expert: he knows better."

He looked at the wounded Marine, with a sigh "Please don't tell me he was hit." He muttered.

Jaden sighed. "He was." He answered, before Ron pulled out his backup FN Five-SeveN. "I'm sorry." He said, pointed it at the man's head. Jaden's eyes widened "NO!" He shouted, before Ron fired, ending the man's life. "Why the fuck did you do that?!" Jaden shouted, raising the rifle at Ron's head "He was-"

"Dead the moment that Hellion shot him." Ron cut him off, "The bullets that the Hellions fire are polonium-tipped."

Jaden blanched, any protest forgotten the moment that those words left Ron's mouth. Polonium was HIGHLY toxic to humans. Perfect for anti-personnel weapons, as there was no way that the victim would survive.

"So, it was a mercy killing." Jaden said, as he lowered his rifle "That makes sense then... a bit of warning before hand still would have been nice though."

"Good to see that you're not blind." Ron said as he slung the M93 over his shoulder and pulled out the SCAR-H. "Let's move."

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**- CIC**

* * *

Adama knew this Baseship. It was the same one from Operation Raptor Talon. The same one that had experimented on people to create something. Likely those 'Hybrids' that Boomer told them about. "Admiral, all of our Vipers and Mobile Suits have been rearmed and refueled." Dualla said, "And Commander Pinkerton's new Mobile Suit has just been loaded." Adama took in a breath. Terminal and Morgenrote had decided to built Ron a replacement for his now-destroyed Proto-Dart. They took his nearly-complete designs for the new ADF-X01 and began building it.

He was in for a shock when he got back. "So what the frak do we do about that Baseship?" Tigh asked.

"The Junk Guild can have it." Adama said, as Tigh looked at the Admiral. "Bill, it's a Cylon ship." He said.

"People from Earth don't have the stomach to handle what those bastards did during the War." Adama said, "Knowing them, they'll destroy it."

* * *

**Cylon Baseship - Central core**

* * *

"I feel sick."

"This is NOTHING, kid."

The team continued deeper into the Baseship, only now coming across body parts, long since rotted everywhere. "How the hell can you not feel for these people?" Jaden asked. "Because they're long dead."

Jaden looked at the Colonial officer, noticing the man's slightly insane eyes. He could see the man was barely keeping from going on a rampage.

Amy, however, did not notice, as his back was to her. "You're a cold, unfeeling bastard." She snapped.

"I feel, Ms. Takeo." Ron said, not looking back "I just don't show it to people who aren't CCE."

"_The sons of two worlds have come at last._" A voice suddenly said, as both Ron and Jaden looked into an alcove, finding an old man in a tub. "Come in, Commanders: I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"What the FUCK are you?" Jaden said, his rifle raised at the thing

"What am I?" It asked, "A man? A machine? My children think I am God."

"You're the frakking First Hybrid." Ron said, his eyes narrowing "You control this ship." The Hybrid seemed to smile. "You understand, Ronald Pinkerton." It said, "I have seen many things. Your life, and yours, Jaden Takeo."

Jaden's eyes narrowed "You know nothing about me." He said, as Ron cocked the siderail grenade launcher and took aim.

"Hold it, Ron!" Jaden warned, as he grabbed the SCAR-H and pointed it and the launcher downwards. "The Centurions will kill us if we try to kill it."

"I've got a fraking .50 caliber rifle strapped to my back." Ron said, "They get close, they die. Pure and simple."

"There is no need, Commander." The Hybrid said, "My time is at its' end. The Guardians will not stop you from taking this ship as your own."

"REALLY." Ron said, and none of the rest of the strike team liked the insane grin on his face.

"I think we should run." Matt whispered to Amy.

"Matt, that is a MASSIVE understatement!" Amy said, and everyone began backing off, then they heard Ron's insane cackling. And a LOT of gunfire. "Let's get the hell off this ship before he gets us killed!" Jaden shouted.

* * *

**Daedalus Crater - 1600 hours Lunar Time**

* * *

Djibril scowled as he read the reports. Althea was captured, raided and nuked by the Colonials less then 7 hours before, and they had pulled out a MASSIVE warship named _Macon _to take out one of his Destroys! He thought they only had TWO Battlestars, not three!

"How long until we can activate Requiem?" He demanded.

"Another hour." The Commander of the Headquarters said, "We're targeting something as far out as Jupiter, sir." They had to add five M/AM reactors to Requiem just so they could fire the the damned thing at what the Earth Alliance Military Intelligence Service was assuming was the Colonial civilian Fleet. Accuracy was going to be a bit of a problem. But if it crushed the Colonial Fleet, Djibril did not care. As long as they got their hands on those Battlestars and their FTL drives, and their stockpile of nuclear weapons, he could honestly care less.

Of course, his day was about to get progressively worse. The facility rocked from what Djibril figured was weapons fire. "Well, the Colonials work fast, don't they?" He said. However he could not have been more wrong. The Colonial Fleet wasn't attacking them. ZAFT was. Outside, ZAKUs, a small number of GOUFs and a large number of GuAIZ Rs, led by the _Fortuna _and Rey's Legend, were assaulting the base.

As no one thought that anyone would attack the base, most of the stock were GAT-01 105 Daggers, a few Windams and retrofit Daggers turned into GAT-01Cs based on the Junk Guild's MS.

* * *

**Above Althea Crater - same time**

* * *

While everyone in the Guild was sickened by what was onboard the Guardian Baseship, in the end, they still needed the damned thing. After getting all the 0005s (which shot themselves in the head at the Hybrid's order seconds before Ron dumped a clip of 7.62mm ammo into the abomination) off the ship, they installed conventional controls and prepared to jump the ship to GENESIS Alpha.

Adama was also jumping _Galactica _there to oversee the transfer and delivery of a large number of Strike Dagger Kais and GuAIZ Rs that would be operated by the Colonial Marine Corps. "Admiral, Blackbird 1 just came back from Daedalus Crater." Dualla reported.

The Blackbird stealth reconnaissance fighter, originally built by Tyrol, upgraded by Ron and put into limited production by the CCE, was something that pissed off most within in the Earth Sphere. A large number of people protested that the fighter was in violation of the Junius Treaty. In fact, with their use of the N-Jammers, N-Jammer Cancellers, nuclear weapons, Mirage Colloid and Orb-based MS technology, they demanded that the Colonial Fleet be disarmed.

Roslin, however, used a loophole in the treaty right before she went in for cancer treatments. She said, quote, 'the treaty only applies to those who signed it. And the 12 Colonies of Kobol did not sign it'. Technicality or not, it DID shut them up. "What's going on?" Adama asked.

"Hibu says that ZAFT is attacking Daedalus." She said, "And they're winning."

Adama sighed. "Tell Colonel Kirishima, Captains Ramius and Gladys to rescue the Alliance forces and get them back here." He said.

Everyone looked at Adama. "Those pilots haven't done anything wrong." He explained "Their leaders can die, but I'm not letting those pilots die because of that."

"Yes, sir." Dualla said.

"Tell Hibu to land and get to the Freedom." Adama added, and Dualla nodded. "Hibu, _Galactica_: RTB and transfer to the Freedom." She said.

"Galactica, _Hibu: copy. I'm on my way back_." Tigh looked at Adama. "Bill, the Freedom doesn't stand a fraking chance against the Legend." He said.

"And not one of ZAFT's ships can hold up against a _Zeus_-Class BSD." Point, Husker.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**- Starboard Flight Pod**

* * *

Luna climbed out of the Blackbird, ran across the deck and got to the Freedom. Old as it was, it was still better then the Impulse units, and when the deck crews, Terminal and the Junk Guild had the time, they'd be upgrading the Freedom to almost the same standard as the Strike Freedom. Almost, because it wasn't getting the DRAGOONs and the Strike Freedom was getting upgraded as well. "What the hell's going on?" She asked Tyrol.

"Don't know, but Colonel Kirishima's been ordered to get her ass moving!" He answered, surprising Luna.

"The _Zeus _is moving out?!" She asked, and the chief shrugged "Looks like it," he said, "But right now get your ass on that catapult!"

Luna shut the hatch as the Freedom entered the airlock and was lifted onto the MS catapult. "Lunamaria Hawke, Freedom, taking off!"

"_Copy, Hibu_." Luna was shot out of the ship, and turned toward the newly-arrived _Zeus_. At 90 kilometers from stem to stern, it was rightfully given a title fitting for its' purpose. Fleet-in-Being.

Throw as many warships into the fire as you like, the _Zeus _will destroy them. Fighters? WHAT fighters? The flak screen would chew them up, spit them out and keep firing. Missiles? Useless! And let's not get STARTED on Mobile Suits! "_Zeus_ Actual, Hibu: what the hell's going on?"

"_Rescue mission. We're going to Daedalus Crater_."

* * *

**Daedalus Crater**

* * *

Out of the almost 1000 Mobile Suits at Daedalus, 200 had been destroyed. "Get the fuck out-AH!" Mostly by Rey's unholy DRAGOON usage. It would take a miracle to save them now. And a miracle came.

"_Attention, ZAFT forces: this is the Battlestar Dreadnought _Zeus." A voice said, which was followed as the form of a 90 kilometer long flying killing machine appeared above them all. "_You are ordered to stand down immediately. All Earth Alliance military units, land on board the_ Zeus _ASAP_." None of the EA MS teams were willing to look a gift horse in the mouth and simply gunned for the BSD.

"Don't let them escape!" Ray shouted "Shoot them down!"

"_Captain Vincennes, this is Colonel Mana Kirishima, commander of the _Zeus." A voice said on the Comm "_Stand down, or I will open fire_." Above the whole thing was a fully armed Raptor, and in it were the Takeo siblings and their unofficial mentor, Commander Ronald Pinkerton. "Watch and learn, kids." He said, with a small smirk "This is what happens to morons that face a _Zeus_." (**AN: Play Apocalypse from **_**BSG: Blood and Chrome**_) The Zeus opened fire on the ZAFT fleet, giving the EA MS teams an opening to escape. "_All Alliance MS teams: land on the _Zeus_." _The Colonel said, "_We'll get you out of here_!" The Daggers and Windams took that option and ran for the _Zeus _as the ZAFT forces got summarily slaughtered.

"Damn it, what is wrong with you people?!" Amy demanded, "Can't you go and NOT kill anyone en masse?!"

"You think the _Zeus _is TRYING to destroy those ships, gaki?" Ron snapped back. It was at this that the Takeo family noticed that the massive 1500cm cannons weren't firing at all. It was the 600cm cannons, and they were firing flak rounds! FLAK ROUNDS! Even so, the _Zeus _was **destroying **the ZAFT forces.

"They're not even trying, Amy." Jaden said, shaking his head "The Colonials outclass ZAFT that much."

"_Raptor 957, _Zeus_: you are cleared for TNWD_." A voice said on the Comm, and Ron moved to answer it. "_Zeus_, Psycho: request confirmation." He said.

"_Psycho, _Zeus_: orders came from Admiral Adama._" The voice said, "_You are cleared_."

"Copy, _Zeus_. Weapons armed." He said, and Jaden looked at Ron. "TNWD?" He asked, and Ron flipped the master arms switch. It was then that Jaden remembered that the Raptor that they took to the Guardian Baseship was armed with 16 nuclear missiles! "Ron, what are you-!"

"I'm not letting ZAFT take this base." Ron said, "Hopefully, they get the message and clear out before I fire." He keyed the wireless. "Attention, ZAFT forces. This is Commander Ronald Pinkerton. Unless you retards don't have the proper sensors, my Raptor is armed to the teeth with 16 60-megaton nuclear have 5 minutes to turn away, or ZAFT loses most of its' space fleet in nuclear hellfire."

The effect was immediate. Over half of the ZAFT fleet (_Laurasias_ and a few _Nazcas_) turned and ran at full speed. At the four minute marker, the Fortuna finally turned away and gunned its' engines. However about 25% of the ZAFT Forces remained attacking despite the warning, and Ron put his hand on the firing switch.

"Ron, I think this is a bit overkill!" Jaden said, "The people here-"

"The moment you put on the uniform, you know the risks that come with it." Ron said, with a sigh "If you can't stomach it..." He pushed the button. "Go home and stay there." Sixteen Colonial ASM-14N tactical nuclear missiles was launched from the Raptor's belly, arcing for Daedalus Crater. The nukes fit their targets, leveling Daedalus Crater and wiping out over 100 ZAFT warships.

"Dammit..." Jaden muttered, however he couldn't really complain. Despite what he had done, he knew as well as others that Ron was right about the risks involved with joining the military. Those 100 ZAFT warships and whatever E.A forces that refused to board the _Zeus _were doing what they believed in, and as such paid the cost.

Ron looked at Jaden, and saw he was taking it rather well. It was obvious that Jaden was not as naive as many others in the Earth Sphere. He wasn't perfect, but he knew what war really was like, otherwise he'd be calling Ron a bastard or monster and pointing a gun at him. At the very least, he was capable of restraining himself.

With that though, Ron spooled up the Raptor's FTL, and Jumped away.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**- Pilot's briefing room - 30 minutes later**

* * *

"Okay, now that the battle is over..." Jaden began, as he sent a small glare towards Ron, "Would you mind telling me WHY you fired nuclear weapons at Daedalus Crater, Commander?"

"Simple." Ron said, "Because my people found out what that hatch was all about." He then tossed Jaden a report from Althea. "Requiem. Remember the GAT-X252 Forbidden?" Jaden nodded, saluting Ron's ability to learn quickly. "Yes." He said, "A unit from the last war used by Extendeds, it used Mirage Colloid particles to create the Geschmeidig Panzer energy deflection armor... what about it?"

"Picture a big ass beam cannon that could be steered anywhere, so long as you had the relay points." Ron explained, "And it was aimed at the PLANTs." Jaden blinked as Ron continued. "Hate to say it, but we had a choice between letting Djibril and his lackeys fire that thing and killing millions-"

"Or you killing thousands with nuclear weapons." Jaden finished.

"Hate to say it, but war's a number's game, and I chose to protect the civilian population by sacrificing the military assets ZAFT deployed at Daedalus." Ron said, with a sigh.

Jaden nodded "I can understand that," he said, mildly surprising Ron for a moment, "I've learned long ago that in war, there is no good side or bad, just life and death. You gave ZAFT a chance to run, a choice that saved well over half of ZAFT's space forces... of course, the Press is going to be against you until you give them this intel. They'll still be pissed that you used nukes though, hell I'm a bit pissed you used them."

Ron, who was sitting down in one of the seats, stood up. "If I could've destroyed the base without using nuclear weapons, I would have." He said, "Same with Althea. We couldn't, so we were left with option one: nuke it."

Jaden nodded again, understanding Ron's cold, albeit logical conclusion. "Yeah, although in Althea you had already evacuated the children being used for the Extended Projects, and pretty much removed Phantom Pain from the picture." He said, before he sighed, "Still, I might never get used to what you people do."

"We do what we must because it seems that no one in the Earth Sphere will, kid." Ron said, "If that means I have to put up with the Junk Guild's whining, then so be it."

"Hey, once the rest of the Guild sees this intel, they'll probably agree a bit." Jaden said, "This Requiem Cannon had to be destroyed, or else a lot more people were going to get killed."

"_Commanders Takeo and Pinkerton, CIC_." Dualla's voice echoed on the intercom, and Ron groaned "Frak." He muttered as he looked at his unofficial student. "You heard the man: move your ass!" With that, Jaden followed Ron through the ship, as they reach CIC.

"What's going on?" Jaden asked. Tigh glared at the Jaden, as the bald man's opinion of the Junk Guild Commander was so low that he would consider a Cylon better company. "Durandal's making a speech." He said.

"And we should care, why?" Ron asked, and Tigh flipped a switch, and Durandal's voice filtered in.

"_The end of this war is upon us, and only one thing remains: the erasure of war in the Earth Sphere_." The ZAFT Supreme Council Chairman said, and all three Colonial officers scoffed.

"That's like saying humans don't need oxygen." Ron said, as Tigh hooked a thumb at Ron. "Life-support or not, he still needs it."

Jaden wondered what the hell they were talking about as Durandal ranted. "_To that end, I have created this, our plan for the world._" He said, "_The Destiny Plan_."

* * *

**16 hours later - Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

* * *

The Colonial Fleet was getting ready for all-out war. Of the nations to accept the Destiny Plan, only four objected. Those four: the Atlantic Federation, the Kingdom of Scandinavia, Orb and the 12 Colonies of Kobol. And the latter didn't follow the Junius Treaty, so nukes were expected to fly in ZAFT's general direction.

The Colonial battle plan was simple: hit-and-run. Pound the crap out of ZAFT until the Supreme Council kicked Durandal out of office because he was committing ZAFT to a war they could not win. And ZAFT would not be able to win, as they did not have FTL drives and the Colonials did.

"I'm surprised the Junk Guild still wants to support us, after all this." Ron said, as he stood across from Jaden as they stood outside Jaden's Raptor "We're attacking ZAFT, and nuked an EA base, and your parents are _still_ putting support to us?"

Jaden smirked a bit "The Junk Guild isn't as weak-stomached as you think, Ron." He said, "We know Durandal has to go down, his Destiny Plan means the end of thing like freedom and choice. It would mean we would have no say in our own lives, and become an evolutionary dead-end for mankind. As much as I hate war, humanity needs war since there are many technological developments that come _from _war, not to mention that mistakes made in one war, can eventually be fixed so they don't happen again in another war."

"What about Junk Guild members from the PLANTs?" Ron asked, "Surely they won't like it..."

"Your commanders specifically said your war was with ZAFT, not the PLANTs," Jaden said, "As long as you guys don't start nuking entire civilian colonies, they'll be good. The Junk Guild will continue to work with the Colonials, Orb Union, and CCE till this war comes to an end."

He then sighed "Well Ron, we gotta go back to the _Hell Vulture,_ get things ready." He said, "Durandal isn't gonna make this easy for you guys, take care."

Ron nodded, and Jaden turned back into the Raptor, where Amy and Matt awaited him as he entered the cockpit.

"_Raptor 264, _Galactica_: you are cleared for take off_." A voice said on the Wireless, as Jaden answered. "Copy, _Galactica_. Heading out." With that said, his Raptor launched from _Galactica,_ as he soared forward.

However, as Jaden steered the Raptor back towards the _Hell Vulture, _he looked at the DRADIS and noticed several blips. "Uh, _Galactica_, I'm picking up something on DRADIS." He said, as A Dart flew up beside the Raptor.

"_Raptor 264, Dart 024: confirming your contact._" A voice said, "_It's_-" Suddenly, the DRADIS beeped out warning after warning. "_Oh, my gods! CYLON BASESHIPS_!" (**AN: Play Leaving Earth from **_**Mass Effect 3**_) Dozens, if not hundreds, of Cylon Baseships were jumping into Earth orbit. "Son of a bitch!" Jaden cursed.

A dozen _Spitfire_-Class AA cruisers jumped into lower orbit over Earth, spreading themselves out to make sure what happened to the Colonies did not happen to Earth. "What the hell are they doing?" Amy asked.

Then the Raptor's alarms started going off, and Amy looked at the ECO console in the back. "Radiological alarm?" She asked. "Son of a bitch!" Jaden snapped, "Those Baseships are arming nukes!" A new MS took off from _Galactica_, looking like a souped up Dart with elements of the Strike Freedom and the Destiny. "_NOT THIS TIME, YOU BASTARDS!_" Jaden heard Ron's voice echo on the comm channels "_NOT THIS TIME_!"

Jaden turned the Raptor toward the _Hell Vulture_. He keyed the comm "_Hell Vulture, _this is Jaden!" He shouted, "Launch all Mobile Suits, and get mine, Matt and Amy's units ready for takeoff the moment we land! Cylons are attacking Earth!"

"_Copy that, Jaden!_" Cossack said, as the Raptor approached the _Hell Vulture _as its complements of GuAIZ R's and Strike Dagger Kai's were launched. As the Raptor made its way to land, they watched as three _Galactica_-Class Battlestars jumped toward Earth to take on the Baseships.

"Are they fucking insane?!" Matt asked, "They won't stand a chance!" The Baseships started getting ready to launch their nuclear MIRV units at Earth. "_All ships, _Pythia_: take out those fraking missiles before they separate_!"

The Baseships started spreading out just as the Battlestars jumped in, ready to pound the Cylons into oblivion. But that wasn't the end. "_Son of a bitch!_" Someone shouted on the Comm "_Where the hell did they come from?!_"

"_Galactica_, this is Raptor 264: what the hell's going on?" Jaden asked, as they landed on the _Hell Vulture _

"_Long-range DRADIS and wireless traffic._" Dualla answered, "_The Cylons are launching a massive system-wide attack_."

_System_-wide. They were attacking the PLANTs AND Earth!

"Son of a bitch!" Jaden shouted, before he keyed the Comm again "Cossack, send word to my parents, and tell them to contact all Junk Guild assets in the Earth Sphere! We've got a planetary invasion on our hands!"

* * *

Thought we were going to fight against Durandal, right? FUCK NO! Now we deal with the Cylons for the last time.

Next Time on _THAB Ultimate Rewrite Edition_: The Cylons Strike, and _Galactica _fights her final battle!

Ja Ne!


	16. Chapter 15: Galactica's Final Battle

**To Hell and Back Ultimate Rewrite Edition**

**Chapter 15: Invasion of Earth/**_**Galactica's**_**Final Battle**

**Ron the True Fan: Good day, everyone. Once more, we're back with **_**THAB URE**_**.**

**117Jorn: Hellz Yeah! And now, we go on to the Cylon Invasion of Earth!**

**Ron the True Fan: And we're getting close to the end of the story, too. **

**117Jorn: *Bows head* That sucks... I love this story so much...**

**Ron the True Fan: Don't pout, Jorn! It's unbecoming! Besides, there's one more chapter to go!**

**117Jorn: I know... well, we better make this last chapter the most epic and bad-ass chapters in this story! We gotta go all-out!**

**Ron the True Fan: You read my mind. MS battles, dogfights, ship-to-ship fighting: You name it, it's in this chapter! On with the story!**

* * *

**Cylon Baseship Command**

* * *

With the loss of the Resurrection Hub, Cavil had all but given up on the war effort against the humans and the rebels. Of course, after recovering a pair of wrecked Vipers carrying modified nuclear missiles, his hopes had been rekindled. And then there was the massive debris field that they had discovered a week after the destruction of the Hub. It contained the same type of weapons as the ones the humans were using, although more archaic: AMF-101 DINNs, they were called. Installing the organic computer into the machine was a pain to figure out, but now Cavil had over 250 Mobile Suits, upgraded with Cylon FTL drives, and with more being built at the few production facilities he had. But now he could win the war once and for fraking all!

* * *

**ZAFT space fortress MESSIAH**

* * *

Durandal looked at the warships surrounding Earth, preparing to fire nuclear-tipped MIRVs at the surface. The Colonials were familiar with this, if the fact that they tasked 12 of their _Spitfire_-Class AA cruisers (one of the most invaluable warships they had) to make sure not ONE missile got through.

Of course, the Cylons were also attacking the PLANTs, and if the explosions from inside the station were any indication, MESSIAH itself. 'Well, beam shields are useless against FTL drives.' he thought to himself.

"Sir-" A Captain began, but Durandal knew what he would ask.

"Get our Mobile Suits out there, killing those things!" He ordered.

"Aye, sir!" The Captain saluted, and proceeded to issue out the orders. Dozens of Raiders flew past, and a few even destroyed a _Nazca_-Class destroyer before it had the chance to react.

* * *

**L5 Lagrange point: general location of the PLANTs**

* * *

While the Home Fleet were not prepared for the Cylon attack, they were holding their own, keeping the Cylons from launching any nukes against the PLANTs. Of course, that was BEFORE they sent literally thousands of Raiders flying at them. "Fucking Christ!" One ZAFT pilot shouted, "There's too many of them!" GuAIZ Rs and Fs, ZAKUs and GOUFs fired on the Cylon fighters, but the Mobile Suits were outnumbered.

This let the Baseships launch their deadly nuclear payloads. They only launched five missiles per ship, but with 20 150-megaton nuclear weapons, the PLANTs would be wiped off the map.

On the _Laurasia _(which, through sheer luck, had managed to survive the First and Second Bloody Valentine Wars) Captain Mayumi Yamagishi frantically gave as many orders as she could that translated to only one thing: STOP THOSE NUKES! But just as the nukes were about to hit Aprilius One, Maius 6 and several other colonies, they were shot down. And if the red tracers were any sign, by Colonial Vipers. "_ZAFT defense forces, this is the Battlestar _Galactica_._" A voice said, as said Colonial Battlestar appeared, "_We're here to assist you. In this battle, the Cylons are your enemies, not us._"

Captain Yamagishi saw the Colonial warship appear. Although she herself didn't like the fact that technically ZAFT and the Colonials were at war, she was a believer of one rule: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. "Order our Mobile Suits to help out the Colonials!" She ordered, causing several in the bridge to look at her like she was crazy "Do it! We need their help if we're going to defeat these Cylons!"

_Galactica_launched out her 12 squadrons of Vipers, 5 squadrons of upgraded Raptors and her full load of 20 Darts and prepared to engage the Baseships. Normally, taking on four Baseships would result in the ship's death. _Galactica_, however, now packed beam weapons. If anything, the Cylons were going to be getting their asses whooped. Mk II, III and VII Vipers engaged the horseshoe-shaped Raiders, beginning one of the biggest dogfights in galactic history. 120 Vipers versus 1000 Raiders. Maybe the Colonials should give them a handicap.

"_All Vipers, Apollo: keep those sparrows from getting near the PLANTs._" Apollo ordered on the wireless. In her Mk III, Starbuck giggled. "With pleasure!" She said. The Raiders split off, using their superior numbers to try and take out their Colonial adversaries. Too bad that the Viper pilots were thousands of times more skilled. Six Raiders went after Kat, but Red Wing and Hotdog hacked three of them down while giving Chuckles and Fireball a shot at the Raiders on their asses. Starbuck, meanwhile, was proving why she was, bar none, the best pilot in the Fleet.

A dozen Raiders were behind her, firing their 30mm autocannons at her, but she was dodging every bullet that flew her way. "Come on, come on..." She muttered. The Mk III skirted the surface of Februarius 5, forcing eight of the Raiders to bug out. Four stayed on her ass, but the Viper ace Crazy Ivaned and opened fire with her own 30mm cannons. That knocked three of the Raiders out of the sky, and mortally damaged the last one. It was sent spiralling to its' death, but it was taking something with it. In this case, the _Laurasia_-Class frigate _Yukon_.

It rammed into the engine block, causing a chain reaction that destroyed the ZAFT warship. "Frak!" Starbuck shouted, "_Galactica_, Starbuck: we lost a ZAFT ship!"

"_We've got bigger problems, Starbuck!_" Adama said. Said Caprican looked at _Galactica_, which was taking on all four Baseships. While the CIWS batteries were working miracles, more missiles got through then any of them would've liked. The armor buckled in places that Starbuck thought would NEVER buckle, and if this kept up...

Starbuck shook her head as she got back to the fight. Too many lives rested on their shoulders. And while she was a total frak up out of the cockpit, in it she was a goddess of war.

* * *

**Earth orbit**

* * *

The _Spitfire_-Class AA cruiser was designed and built to put out so many bullets that missiles could not get past its' flak screen. And it did the job perfectly. Not one of the Cylon MIRVs had gotten past the first layer of the flak field as of yet. Of course, this also worked against the _Spitfires_, as they had no anti-ship weapons. They could take out the missiles and fighters, but not their sources. That was what the Battlestars were for.

In fact, the Battlestars _Korhal_, _Keres_and _Erebus _were firing on the Baseships, proving that the system, such as it was, worked. Then all hell was unleashed as Mobile Suits launched from the Cylon Baseships.

"What the frak?!" One Viper pilot shouted, "Where the hell did they get Mobile Suits?!" What was worst was that they KNEW these Mobile Suits. According to the Orb and EA warbooks, they were ZAFT AMF-101 DINNs. And while they were modified for space combat, that's exactly what they were: ZAFT Mobile Suits. Either Durandal had given the Cylons older model MSs or they had gotten their hands on them another way.

The how and why didn't matter. What DID matter was that the Cylons were going to get horribly shafted. "T_his is the Orb warship _Tsukuyomi _to the Colonial task force!_" A voice on the Wireless said, "_Hang tight: we're inbound to help_!" While the _Izumo_-Class battleship was armed to the teeth and carried 10 Mobile Suits, the Cylons had thousands of Raiders and a LOT of missiles. At this point, the ship would be more of a liability then an asset. And with the Colonials being spread out on all fronts to keep the Cylons from killing off everyone in the Earth Sphere and at Jupiter, they couldn't afford a liability.

And this was proven when the Cylons sent their Raiders at the Orb warship. Of course, they didn't expect another Battlestar to jump in and start shooting at them. This one was the _Izanami_, formally the Battlestar _Pegasus_. Her newly-installed 600cm KEW/beam cannons opened fire on the Baseships, taking out one of the starfish-shaped warships and making the Raiders turn toward the Orb Battlestar, and into the waiting hands of the Colonial Viper squadrons that still called the ship home.

Mk VIIs and a few Mk IIIs began hacking the Raiders out of the sky as _Izanami _used her new dorsal beam cannons to hack one of the Baseships in half as the _Tsukuyomi _launched her Astrays and Murasumes to deal with the Cylon Mobile Suits.

* * *

**Near the PLANTs**

* * *

Jaden bit back a curse as he hacked apart another Cylon DINN. "Damn, Cylon's did a nice job making these new DINN's..." he muttered, "Looks like they only have a few though… kinda strange that they look similar to the First BV war DINNs though!"

"_There's a difference?_" Ron asked, as he piloted his new M.S, which the IFF IDed as the ADF-X01 Morgan, destroying as many Cylon units as he could. Ron had designed it after getting his hands on some of the Strike Freedom and Destiny's blueprints. Of course, it used the EA/Orb weapons instead of the ZAFT ones (an Angi and a Schwert Gewehr instead of an M2000GX and an Arondight, for example) but it used the beam rifle and had the same weapons and appearance of the Strike Freedom, plus the Balaena beam cannons of the Freedom. Clearly, 'overkill' was not a word in Ron's vocabulary. But that was coming in handy as the Raiders swarmed the fleet, and while the Vipers were slaughtering them, the Raiders still had nuclear weapons and they were still launching them at the PLANTs.

"Yeah," Jaden said, as he kicked away another DINN before slicing it in half down the middle. "BW1 DINNs are slower than their refit cousins that were made after the war, upgraded with data from the newer BABIs. Its not too much of an improvement, but its still noticeable. But it looks like the Cylons only have so many of these things..." However he cursed as one Raider tried to attack him behind, but its cannons only hitting his P.S armor and doing no damage before he sliced the Raider in half. "Damn it, we can't get them all!"

"_No need to worry about that._" A female voice said, and Jaden blinked as another Cylon Baseship jumped in and launched Raiders and missiles, but NOT at the PLANTs. They were targeting the other Cylons!

"_That had better not be who I think it is._" Ron muttered.

"_Sorry, Psycho._" The Voice on the radio said, "Galactica_, Boomer: sorry we're late_." Ron let loose a strangled scream over the comm, forcing Jaden to raise an eyebrow. "What the hell's YOUR problem?" Jaden asked.

The CCE field marshal's face appeared in a comm panel. "_I will explain later." _He growled, "_For now, we need to take out those Baseships! Without them, they can't launch any more nukes!_"

One of the enemy Baseships exploded in a fireball, and the what caused it was none other than the Battlestar _Galactica_, which had fired all of her KEW/beam cannons at once in beam mode.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Jaden said, as _Galactica_pounded the Baseships, forcing them back from the PLANTs while the Vipers slaughtered the remaining Raiders.

"_PINKERTON!_" A voice shouted, as both pilots had to dodge a burst from a certain Mobile Suit's DRAGOON units.

Ron groaned from the Morgan, "Godsdamn it, you idiot!" He shouted, "Do you realize what the hell is going on here?! The Cylons are going to kill everyone if we don't work together!"

"_The Cylons don't matter!_" Ray shouted, "_If you and _Galactica _are destroyed, then Gil's world will come to pass!_"

From the Strike Aka, Jaden blinked as he looked at Ron in the comm window. "Is he crazy?" He asked.

"_He's a fraking clone._" Ron said, "_They're always insane._"

Rey continued his assault, and both pilots were forced to continue dodging. "_Rey, stop this!_" Shinn warned, while the Legend dodged a multiphase cannon shot from the Destiny, followed up by the Freedom trying to hack the Legend in with a beam saber.

"Neither of you matter!" Ray shouted, "You've betrayed Gil!"

"_Oh, shove it up your ass!_" Amy shouted, as her Destiny Impulse fired at the Legend, but the clone pilot dodged her shots with simple ease. Matt got behind the Providence on steroids, but Rey sent the DRAGOONs after him, forcing Ron to launch his own DRAGOONs to save Matt.

"You're fraking insane!" Ron shouted "Can you not get it through your head?! We need to stop fighting each other!"

"_We will when the Destiny Plan is enacted!_" Rey shouted, as he finally managed to get past the DRAGOONs and hack the Destiny impulse in half, severing the legs and cockpit from the torso and the rest of the MS.

"AMY!" Jaden shouted,

"She's alive kid!" Ron reassured quickly, as he saw the Destiny Impulse's cockpit was still intact and unscathed. "But this fraktard won't be for long!"

Jaden wondered why when three more Mobile Suits entered the fray: the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice and Akatsuki.

"_Kira Yamato!_" Ray shouted, "_You will die with_Galactica!"

"Not if we kill you first, you cloned retard!" Ron shouted, as he drew the Schwert Gewehr and charged at the Legend. But the CCE field marshal wasn't that lucky. While Ron was a skilled pilot, Rey was more experienced in the use of the Legend and the Morgan was also barely finished. So it wasn't as agile as Ron would've liked, and this was proven when the Legend dodged the strike. The larger Mobile Suit kicked the Morgan, knocking the Schwert Gewehr out of the Morgan's hands. This also damaged some of the Morgan's hastily installed internal systems, knocking it out of the fight.

"Ron!" Jaden shouted as he disengaged, allowing Luna to grab the anti-ship sword. Rey held off the Strike Freedom and the Infinite Justice using both his beam rifle and the DRAGOONs while he continued ranting. "_Gil will save Earth_!" The clone ranted "_And once his world_-"

"_REY, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DIE_!" Luna shouted, as the massive anti-ship sword went through the Legend's cockpit as she stabbed the bastard from behind.

"Holy shit!" Jaden shouted.

"Uh...nice work, Hibu." Ron said, as Luna pulled out the sword and sighed. "How's the Commander?"

"I'm fine, gaki," Ron reassured, "But the Morgan's dead in the water. SitRep!" Several large explosions were his answer.

"Son of a bitch!" Jaden shouted "Cylons nuked the PLANTs!"

"I'd look again." Ron said, as out of the nuclear fireball...came _Galactica_.

"Holy-how the hell did _Galactica_survive that?!" Jaden shouted. The CCE field marshal's voice scoffed on the wireless. "Please." he said, "_Galactica_isn't one of your pansy-ass armed tugs! She's a Battlestar! She's built to take a pounding and deal out fifty times more!"

And dealing a pounding was exactly what _Galactica _was doing, even with her battle damage, which was _very _extensive. Jaden, although insulted by Ron's comment on Earth warships, acquiesced that not one ship built by Earth could've survived one nuclear strike, let alone four, and yet _Galactica _shrugged them off!

"This will be _Galactica's _final battle." Ron said, "She's too old, and she won't survive much longer."

Jaden gave Galactica the once-over, noting that while she survived the nukes, they would be the straws that broke her back if Adama wasn't careful.

"Fuck! Incoming!" Matthew shouted as a squad of Cylon DINNs came at them, firing their 120mm machine guns and 88mm shotguns at the Colonial/Orb/Junk Guild MS teams. Jaden dragged the Morgan away, keeping them from killing the immobile Colonial MS and killing the even more valuable pilot. "What the hell are you doing?!" Ron shouted.

"Saving your ass!" Jaden retorted.

"If you want to save my ass, get me to a ship where I can fix the Morgan!" Ron retorted, "I am NOT helpless!" Jaden groaned as he dragged the Morgan toward the Hell Vulture.

* * *

**ZAFT Space Fortress MESSIAH**

* * *

Durandal was outwardly calm. Inwardly, he was panicking like a rabbit running from a fox. Rey was dead, (killed by Lunamaria Hawke, Colonial callsign 'Hibu') the Supreme Council had ordered that as soon as the battle was over that Durandal was to resign and the _Fortuna_had been badly damaged by a swarm of Cylon fighters. All in all, the Destiny Plan seemed destined to fail.

"Mr. Charman, we've been boarded!" His Aide shouted, as Durandal looked at him with wide eyes. "What?" He demanded.

"A lot of Cylon shuttles-I think the Colonials call them Heavy Raiders-just jumped in and started landing, deploying ground troops!"

The day just couldn't get any worse, could it? MESSIAH rocked from an explosion, and the beam shield went down. Nope, it did and still could get a lot worse.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**- CIC**

* * *

Adama got back on his feet, having fallen from the jump that the ship performed to keep the Cylons from hitting the PLANTs and the nukes that hit the ship. "Damage report!" He ordered.

"CIWS turrets ran out of ammo a LONG while ago, sir," Gaeta reported, "And we're starting to lose the armor plating!"

Tigh snarled as Galactica rocked from yet another nuclear strike. "This keeps up, _Galactica's _going to fall apart!" He shouted.

"Think of it like this, Saul." Adama said a bit grimly "At least WE can survive the nukes. If those hit an Earth ship, they wouldn't've survived."

Tigh snarled as he looked at Gaeta. "Where the frak are those BSDs?!" He demanded.

"Reports say they're engaging a large Cylon warship that just jumped in over Earth!" He said, "They're holding it off, but-" _Galactica _shook as two Baseships pounded the aging warship with missiles.

"Frak this!" Adama shouted, "Load the nukes and return fire!" _Galactica's _twelve missile tubes opened and let loose a one Peacemaker ICBM-sized nuclear missile from each. While most wouldn't reach their targets, there only needed to be one, as Baseships weren't the most heavily armored things in the galaxy. As predicted, only one nuke exploded, destroying three of the Baseships and scorching _Galactica's _armor to the point of no return.

But _Galactica _would keep on fighting. It was her duty, after all. "All ahead, flank speed!" _Galactica _continued to fire on the Baseships, but the mighty Battlestar was taking a LOT of hits in the process, and she had no Viper or MS cover.

* * *

**Junk Guild **_**Girty Lue**_**-Class battleship **_**Hell Vulture**_

* * *

While the hanger crews were busy repairing the Morgan, Ron was busy getting his ass to the bridge to direct the battle. And as soon as he heard what was happening to _Galactica_, he intended to get the _Hell Vulture_to support the larger, older and badly damaged Battlestar. And that was exactly what he was doing. "-fucking Raiders off our ass!" Cossack ordered, "Come to bearing 128-"

"Frak that!" Ron shouted, as the bridge crew looked at him. "Turn this thing around! We're supporting _Galactica_!"

"Are you insane?! _Galactica's-_"

"Do it!" Ron shouted, "Turn to bearing 258 and set the CIWS to burst-fire mode! I'm not letting _Galactica _take on those Baseships alone!"

"I'd do it, guys." Jaden said as they looked at him as he just entered the bridge. "Take us toward those Baseships, and arm all weapons."

Cossack flinched, then nodded. "Come to bearing 258!" He ordered "Arm Gottfrieds and Igelstellungs! Flank speed!"

Ron quickly took up a post on the vacant communications console. "I'll try to get a few ships to support us." He said, "There's got to be SOMEONE free!"

Outside, two more Baseships exploded under a hail of gunfire from two _Valkyrie_-Class Battlestars. While their guns were three times smaller then the ones mounted to their larger brothers and sisters, they were still hundreds of times more powerful then even the most overcharged and overclocked Valiants.

"Hell Vulture, Hrunting_: sitrep from all Colonial forces. Cylons are being pushed back, but they've boarded MESSIAH and are arming Neo-GENESIS. Raptor teams are requesting permission to blow it to hell. Orders?_"

"Do it! We know what the full-sized version could do and I'm not letting them use one that can fire five times faster, and I don't need to tell you what'll happen if Durandal retakes the station!" "_Understood, Commander. Orders relayed_."

At that moment, a pair of Raiders managed to dart past the CIWS barrage and shove two missiles into the port landing bay. The hatch was completely destroyed, but the Raiders paid dearly for it and were destroyed seconds later. "Son of a bitch!" "Our day is about to get infinitely worse, people." Jaden wondered what Ron was talking about, then saw multiple box-like shuttles heading their way, escorted by dozens of Raiders.

Like everyone in the Guild, Jaden knew next to nothing about Cylon craft outside basic Raiders and Baseships. Luckily, they had the Cylon expert on board. "I'd get ready to be boarded. Those are Heavy Raiders, and they look loaded with Centurions."

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**- same time**

* * *

Scarred and pitted, badly burned and heavily damaged, _Galactica _still fought on. The amount of damage _Galactica _had taken in the first few hours of the battle would have been a death knell to any Cylon or Earth warship, yet the 600cm cannons still fired, the flak barrage kept up and the engines kept going. "Battery 3, redirect your fire 10 degrees starboard! Concentrate on taking out the Cylon Baseship at bearing 024 carom 067!"

The DRADIS console above Adama's head sparked and finally died as the Battlestar's age and damage started catching up with her. That meant that _Galactica's _command center was blind. So it didn't see the _Fortuna _coming at her at flank speed, missing its' bridge. The newer, smaller and slightly faster ZAFT warship was out of control and was about to ram _Galactica_. And ram she did, colliding with _Galactica's _'nose' on the port side and embedding herself up to the catapult hatches. That damage would kill Galactica in the end.

"What the frak just hit us?! Another nuke?!" "Sir, the _Fortuna _just rammed us! She's missing her bridge: looks like the Cylons destroyed it." The larger ship's raw speed then sheared the Fortuna in two, leaving the section that was inside _Galactica's _57 year old hull still inside while the larger part was practically thrown away. It did, however, hit and damage the port flight pod, the struts and the upper engine pod.

"Admiral, we're a few seconds from losing maneuvering thrusters and if we keep taking hits to port, we're looking at explosive decompressions in sections 36 through 48!" "Jump drives?" Gaeta shook his head. Adama nodded in understanding. "Damn. Then that's it. It's been an honor."

_Galactica _kept taking hit after hit, refusing to die, but dying anyways. Of course, the Cylons didn't plan on a near-suicidal charge from the CCE field marshal, who had practically hijacked the _Hell Vulture_and was firing at the six Baseships trying to destroy _Galactica_.

"_Get the hell away from my ship, assholes_!" One buckled and exploded, and the Raiders turned on the Hell Vulture. But the _Pythia_, a _Spitfire_-Class AA cruiser, was waiting for them. In fact, a dozen Colonial warships were all converging on the Baseships, ranging from _Hermes_-Class frigates to _Mercury_-Class Battlestars. Even Adama's old command, the _Valkyrie _herself, was firing on the Baseships. The three police frigates dove into the fire, heading right for the Baseship closest to _Galactica_. "_Taos Alpha, Hell Vulture_: what the hell are you doing?!" "_Taking it out, Commander!_" The frigate rammed into the Baseship, then exploded in a ball of nuclear hellfire. This shocked the_Hell Vulture's_crew, but the CCE field marshal took it in stride. "All ships, Psycho: try NOT to perform suicide attacks! _Hrunting _and _Mjolnir_, shift your fire to Tango Charlie! Give _Galactica _an escape route!" Instead of turning away from the fight, however, Galactica turned toward what had turned into a Cylon hornet nest: MESSIAH. Surrounding the ZAFT C4C were five Baseships, two of them the same type that took on the _Osiris _during the Ghost Fleet Offensive. The rest were modern types, and they were firing missiles as if it were the last battle they would be fighting.

And it was, if Adama had any say in it. "Is Admiral Adama insane?! He's charging right at the Cylons! Again!" Ron got on the wireless again. "_Galactica_, Psycho: what the hell are you doing?!" "_Taking out MESSIAH_." "Sir-" "_We'll evac before the end, Commander_." Jaden looked at Ron, silently asking what Adama meant.

"It's a kamikaze run. He's going to ram _Galactica _into Neo-GENESIS." At that, Galactica's six sublight engines fired. "My Gods, he's going full burn! That's 150% on the engines!" "That'll burn them out, won't it?" Ron got out of his seat, kicked the helmsman out of theirs and turned the Hell Vulture toward MESSIAH. (AN: Play The Wrath of God in All It's Fury from _Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0_) "What the fuck are you doing?!" "My job!" Jaden tried getting Ron out of the seat, but he forgot one important fact: Ron was NOT getting out of that chair. "Sorry, kid." He punched Jaden in the throat, knocking him back and making him choke as he guided the Vulture alongside Galactica, escorting her to her final battle.

"Are you trying to get us killed?!" "What I'm trying to do is save the lives of every man, woman and child in the Earth Sphere! The Cylons took MESSIAH, and we're blowing it the hell up!" Another four ships, all _Valkyrie_-Class, entered formation around _Galactica_, as well as the _Archangel, Minerva _and _Eternal_. "Ron, unless you've forgotten, we've been boarded by the Cylons!" "If that AI of yours is worth a damn, then they won't get control of the weapons or engines! Distance to target?!" "Uh, 500 kilometers and closing. Galactica's getting ahead of us! We won't be able to cover her for long!" "We don't need to." Ron pulled the _Hell Vulture_away, but allowed them to watch _Galactica's _final charge. Structural damage finally caught up, and the starboard flight pod flew off. Before the port pod followed suit, a squad of Raptors and multiple FTL-equipped shuttles took off and jumped away. The pods rammed into a pair of Baseships, destroying them. _Galactica's _main hull rammed into the mirror block, destroying the latter while _Galactica's _massive, twisted hulk entered Neo-GENESIS itself before the few nuclear devices on board exploded, destroying MESSIAH and the aging Battlestar. "Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ." Jaden looked at Ron. "Tat savitur vareṇyaṃ. Bhargo devasya dhīmahi. Dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt." "What the hell are you singing?" "An old song honoring warriors. And there is no older or greater warrior then the Battlestar _Galactica_." He saluted _Galactica _as the ship pulled away from the dead station.

* * *

Battlestar Dreadnought _Zeus _- Earth Orbit

* * *

Lt. Colonel Mana Kirishima glared at the DRADIS screens as the _Zeus _pounded the shit out of the huge Cylon ship that Boomer and her Cylons were calling the 'Colony'. "Ma'am, we're getting signals from all remaining enemy contacts: they're surrendering! We've won!"

"Losses?" "Not that heavy, but-" The wireless operator looked at her CO. "_Galactica's_been destroyed." Those words didn't make any sense to Mana. "What?" "_Galactica_was destroyed, ma'am. Blew up MESSIAH and about 10 Baseships, but she's gone." The DRADIS started clearing up as the enemy Cylons began jumping away, but three Baseships stayed behind. They were Boomer's rebel forces, and thus, allies. Of course, that was only if Admiral Adama didn't give the order to blow them to hell.

"Status?" "Admiral Adama's taken command of the _Valkyrie_, and is ordering all forces in the Sol System to stand down." The war was over. The Cylons under Cavil's command were gone, hopefully forever. But now they had lost their flagship. A life after _Galactica _was going to be...odd.

* * *

7 days later

* * *

The Second Bloody Valentine and Cylon Wars were over. The Cylons, now under Boomer's leadership, were going to leave humanity in peace. Fighting humanity now was suicide. "_The wars that have plagued the Earth Sphere are now over. The madness of Patrick Zala, Gilbert Durandal, Blue Cosmos and LOGOS will not happen again_."

The Colonial Fleet began rebuilding their forces, salvaging the remains of the ships lost almost nine months before. Of course, this was also a chance to modernize the Fleet. Orb, two days before, had requested to buy several _Galactica_-Class Battlestars to strengthen their forces. The _Izumo_-Class battleship, though formidable, was no match for a Cylon Baseship or its' Raiders. As such, the CCE and Junk Guild were busy modernizing the Fleet's _Galactica_-Class ships.

And who were working on the new_Izanagi_-Class refits? None other then CCE field marshal Ronald Pinkerton and Junk Guild commander Jaden Takeo.

"_Galactica_used to be able to carry thousands of Vipers?" "Yup. After the war, though, _Galactica _was refit, removing a lot of features from the ship: the internal configuration was changed and a lot of her armor and guns were removed." (AN: Before bitching, the _Razor _flashbacks made use of existing sets and CGI models. It's illogical to think that _Galactica's _modern form was refit during a time of war. Hence, it makes more sense to assume that it's a post-war refit) He pulled out the _Galactica_-Class' master blueprints, showing the Battlestar's more...intimidating past self.

"I'm changing them back to a similar configuration." "Not the same?" "I'm changing the turrets to what those jackasses in ZAFT and OMNI Enforcer are calling 'Swingfires'." "Swingfires?" "Because they can fire either beam rounds-" "Or those unholy railgun shots. God, those things are nightmare fuel." Ron gave Jaden a questioning look as he changed some areas of the flight pods to hold Mobile Suits instead of Vipers and Raptors.

"Oh?" "_Galactica_took out dozens of lightwave shield-equipped Mobile Armors. Then _Macon _blows up a Destroy! I think you can understand our fear of those things!" Ron chuckled, amused by Jaden's understandable fear. "As soon as we've started producing the_Polaris_-Class, the _Galactica_-Class will be phased out of service or sold to other countries. Hell, we've gotten offers from ZAFT, the Alliance, the Kingdom of Scandinavia and even the Junk Guild to buy the damned things from us."

Jaden looked at the CCE field marshal in shock. "I wasn't told about that." "I wasn't supposed to tell you. Admiral Avalonia told me a last night, right before his daughter dragged me into a Raptor." Jaden double-taked. "Uh-" "Don't. Ask."

* * *

Massive amounts of pain: check.

Massive amounts of death: check.

Kicking the living shit out of the Cylons, Durandal and just about everyone else: FRAKING A THAT'S A CHECK!

And now, for ships seen in this chapter and in _Law for the Wolves_.

* * *

Ship Class: _Hermes_

Ship Type and Role: Patrol/Support (frigate/destroyer escort)

Ships of the line:_Hermes, Taos Alpha_and over 900 others

Manufacturer: Colonial Fleet/Colonial Corps of Engineers

Operators: Colonial Fleet/Colonel Corps of Engineers/Colonial Planetary Police Forces

Height: 100 meters

Length: 300 meters

Width: 150 meters at widest point

Powerplant: 1 x shielded 16440 mW thermonuclear reactor

Propulsion: 2 x tylium reaction engines, 1 x military-grade FTL drive

Armaments: 8 x 150cm bow-facing cannons, 30 x 88mm flak guns

Complements: 10 Vipers, 4 Raptors

Crew: 487 officers and men

Technical and Historical Notes: Designed after the First Cylon War to replace all pre-war patrol craft, the _Hermes _was actually too powerful for her purpose, and was pressed into Fleet service as well. Between CE 31 (when the prototype was built) and CE 74 (the Fall of the Twelve Colonies) over 800 ships were built, usually using their yard number rather then a formal name. Large numbers of these small, lightly armored and lightly armed ships survived the Fall of the Colonies, but could not join the CCE task force that went to Kobol, as they were in other survivor fleets, usually their only source of protection.

Appearance: A scaled-down _Venato_r-Class Star Destroyer from the Prequel _Star Wars_movies with a _Valkyrie_-style flight pod under the hull

* * *

Ship Class: _Izanagi_

Ship Type and Role: Battlestar (Battleship/Carrier hybrid)

Ships of the line: _Izanagi, Ame-no-Koyane, Uke Mochi _and others

Manufacturer: Colonial Fleet/Colonial Corps of Engineers/Morgenrote Inc/Junk Guild (latter in design role only)

Operators: Colonial Fleet/United Emirates of Orb Armed Forces

Height: 1438.64m

Length: 536.84m

Width: 183.32m

Powerplant: 4 x Matter/Antimatter Reactors

Propulsion: 6 sublight engines (4 in outboard engine pods, 2 on main hull between engine pods), 40 maneuvering engines (in 10 clusters of 4)

Armaments: 600 dual point-defense Kinetic Energy Weapons; 200 55mm/75mm CIWS turrets (two guns each per mounting) 40-50 'Swingfire' turrets, 12 missile tubes (usually armed with nuclear missiles)

Complements: 30 Viper squadrons (20 to 40 planes per squadron) 150 Raptors, 300 Mobile Suits (usually MBF-01M1 Astrays, MVF-11F Murasames or CDF-01A Darts)

Crew: 2400 in Orb service, plus Colonial pilots for Vipers and Raptors; 6200 in Colonial service

Technical and Historical Notes: While the _Galactica_-Class proved its' worth, dominating over all comers in the Earth Sphere, its' chief weakness was lack of Mobile Suits and CIWS turrets. After the Second Bloody Valentine War, the _Galactica_-Class Battlestar was redesigned, incorporating her war-era refit with Earth-developed weapons and technology. The first_Izanagi_-Class Battlestar (named after one of the Japanese gods that created the Japanese archipelago) was originally the Battlestar _Universal _before being renamed _Izanagi _and was given to the Orb military. Like all post-Fall Colonial ships (sans the massive _Legacy _and _Zeus_-Class BSDs, which are simply too large) the _Izanagi _is equipped with a levitator unit, making it a feared ship to anyone who face it, in or out of the atmosphere of a planet. All _Izanagi_-Class Battlestars are refits of the _Galactica_-Class and are only used by Orb and the Colonial Fleet, the latter of which is only using them as a stopgap measure and will replace them with the _Mercury_-Class-based, _Galactica _and _Archangel_-Class-influenced _Polaris_-Class Battlestar.

Appearance: _Blood and Chrome _Episode 1_Galactica_

* * *

Ship Class: _Galactica Kai_-Class (provisional)

Ship Type and Role: Battlestar (Battleship/Carrier hybrid)

Ships of the line: 40+

Manufacturer: Colonial Fleet/Colonial Corps of Engineers (original)

Operators: ZAFT/OMNI Enforcer/Kingdom of Scandinavia Armed Forces/Junk Guild

Height: 183.32m

Length: 1438.64m

Width: 536.84m

Powerplant: Varies, but usually 2 x M/AM reactors

Propulsion: 6 sublight engines (4 in outboard engine pods, 2 on main hull between engine pods), 40 maneuvering engines (in 10 clusters of 4)

Armaments: Same as_Izanagi_-Class, but the turrets can only fire KEW rounds or beam rounds

Complements: Varied, but minimum 250 Mobile Suits (OMNI Enforcer variant carries 600)

Crew: OMNI Enforcer service, 4000; ZAFT service, 1600; KOSAF service, 1200; Junk Guild service, varied (all are highly automated, with the latter three taking it to higher extremes)

Technical and Historical Notes: In CE 76, the Colonial government began selling the old, but still militarily useful, _Galactica_-Class Battlestars to the armed forces of Earth over the objections of the Junk Guild and Terminal. The reasons were simple: with the completion of the Battlestar _Polaris _in late CE 75 and with 6 more ships of the same class either in the mid or late stages of construction, the Colonial Fleet needed to get rid of the older _Galacticas_, but not let them rot like they were going to let happen with _Galactica _before the Fall. As such, they were sold in these numbers to the following: Earth Alliance/OMNI Enforcer: 4 ZAFT: 3 (two of which were to replace the _Minerva_, which defected to the Colonial Fleet, and the _Fortuna_, which was destroyed by the Cylons during the Battle of the Sol System) Kingdom of Scandinavia: 1. Their respective refits varied, but they were mostly the same as the _Izanagi_-Class, sans 'Swingfire' turrets (some 600cm cannons were modified to fire beam rounds only, as the Colonials refused to give them the aforementioned modifications) and Viper/Raptor squadrons, with the exclusion of the Junk guild models. All _Galactica Kai_-Class Battlestars (a provisional title, as each nation has a different name for their respective refit) were rebuilt from active Colonial Fleet ships and recovered wrecks from Cyrannus, and their refits were completed before CE 79. Like the _Izanagi _and _Polaris_-Classes, the _Galactica Kai _is equipped with multiple levitator units. The number of Earth-based Battlestars is at least 40 and all (again, over the objections of the Junk Guild, Terminal and even CCE field marshal Commander Ronald Pinkerton) are equipped with FTL drives.

Appearance: Same as _Izanagi_-Class

* * *

**Mobile Unit: **CDF-01A Dart

**Unit Type: **Mass Production Transformable Mobile Suit

**Manufacturer:**Colonial Fleet/Colonial Corps of Engineers

**Developed from: **MVF-11F Murasame

**Operators: **12 Colonies of Kobol

**Overall Height: **17.82 meters (MS mode)

**Power-Plant: **Near-nuclear Ultracompact Energy Battery

**Pilot Accommodations: **Pilot only in standard cockpit in torso

**Equipment and Special Features: **Striker/Wizard Pack Hardpoints, Variable Phase Shift Armor, FTL drive

**Armaments: **2 x 75mm Igelstellung cannons, 2 x Type 70J Kai beam sabers, 1 x Type 72 High-energy Beam Cannon, 1 x Type 72 Kai 'Ikazuchi' beam rifle, plus Striker/Wizard Pack fittings

**Technical and Historical Notes: **Developed from the MVF-11F Murasame, the Dart is the first Colonial Mobile Suit is regular service. Unlike the Murasame, (or any other mass production MS, for that matter) it is equipped with Variable Phase Shift Armor. (VPSA hereafter) The VPSA was a necessary evil, as the battery (the same kind used on Battlestars for emergency power) were too powerful for operations. Every time the prototype fired its' beam cannon, it was nearly destroyed, for example. Even with this, the Dart still needed something to suck more power from the battery. This led to the use of Striker and Wizard Pack hardpoints, allowing a Dart to disable an MS (be it EA or ZAFT) and steal the Striker/Wizard Pack. This makes the Dart the most powerful non-nuclear powered MS in the Cosmic Era timeline, as battery life with the Launcher and Gunner Packs (the most energy hungry pack) is nine hours.

**Appearance:**A Murasame fit with a Striker or Wizard Pack

* * *

**Mobile Unit: **ADF-X01A Morgan

**Unit Type: **Prototype Transformable Assault Mobile Suit

**Developed from: **ZGMF-X10A Freedom, ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, ZGMF-X42S Destiny, CDF-01A Dart

**Manufacturer: **Morgenrote Inc/Colonial Corps of Engineers

**Operators: **12 Colonies of Kobol/Colonial Corps of Engineers

**Overall Height: **18.96 Meters

**Power-Plant: **Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor, 2 x Near-Nuclear Ultracompact energy battery

**Pilot Accommodations: **Pilot only, cockpit in chest

**Equipment and Special Features: **Hardpoint(for docking with METEOR) High-Mobility Aerial Tactics (HiMAT) System, 4 x Voiture Lumière Booster Engine, Multi-Lock Weapons System, Neutron Jammer Canceller, Super DRAGOON System, Mirage Colloid Holographic Projection System, FTL drive

**Armaments:**8 x EQFU-3X Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wing (1 x MA-80V Beam Assault Cannon per DRAGOON) 2 x MA-M02G Super Lacerta Beam Saber, 1 x MGX-2235 "Calidus" Multi-phase Beam Cannon, 2 x M100 Balaena Plasma Beam Cannon 2 x 75mm Igelstellung CIWS, 2 x MMI-M15E "Xiphias 3" Railgun, 2 x MX2200 Beam Shield Generator, 1 x Schwert Gewehr 15.78m Anti-ship Sword, 1 x Agni 320mm Hyper Impulse Beam Cannon

**Technical and Historical Notes: **The ADF-X01A Morgan (named for both the Arthurian figure and the superfighter of the same name from _Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War_) is a prototype MS, piloted by CCE field marshal Commander Ronald Pinkerton. Officially, it is a technology demonstrator, but as the weapons and systems it uses are already proven to work, the thinking is that the Morgan is simply used as a long range anti-fleet hit-and-run Mobile Suit. While highly maneuverable and deadly, the Morgan is still a work in progress, as proven during the Battle of the Sol System when the Legend disabled the Morgan's half-installed electrical systems. Rumors of a watered-down and highly refined version have circulated through intelligence circles. These have yet to be confirmed, but as the Colonial Fleet does not follow the Junius Treaty (or the Treaty of Luna, which is the more up-to-date version) it is more then likely.

**Appearance: **MS mode, a hybridized version of the Freedom, Strike Freedom and Destiny; MA mode, the ADF-X01A Morgan from _Ace Combat Zero_


	17. Epilogue: Battlestar Polaris

To Hell and Back Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Epilogue: The Fall/Battlestar Polaris

The Fall of the Colonies resulted in the total destruction of the Colonial Fleet, but several vessels were never found, even after the Colonials returned to rebuild their worlds. Where did they go?

Caprica orbit: Zero Hour

A quintet of Battlestars, several _Hermes_-Class frigates and four _Spitfire_-Class AA cruisers prepared to engage the enemy.

This was Battlestar Group 60, which was originally en route to Scorpion Fleet Shipyards for a computer overhaul.

Its' flagship was the Battlestar _Mercury_ and its' CO was Commander Sasha Urei. And all hell was breaking loose as the large task force was engaging the Cylons who were attacking the Colonies after over 40 years.

The _Valkyrie_ and _Yashuman_ were spiraling out of control, as were their Vipers.

"Launch our Vipers and tell them to cover the planes from _Yashuman_ and _Valkyrie_! All batteries, target the Basestars!"

The larger _Mercury_-Class Battlestar opened fire on the Baseships, followed by the _Galactica_-Class _Rhode_ and the _Hermes_-Class FFG789.

"Commander, _Valkyrie_ is regaining control! She's trying to recover her Vipers and jump the hell out-" "We need _Valkyrie_ HERE!"

The smaller, older Battlestar finally managed to stabilize and launched out a small number of Raptors to recover the downed Vipers.

As soon as that was done, she jumped away, leaving the _Yashuman_ and BSG-60 to take on the Baseships.

Logically, it made sense: _Valkyrie's_ Vipers were still compromised.

Still, they needed the ship to engage the Baseships.

"Ma'am, I'm picking up-HOLY SHIT!"

Sasha looked at the DRADIS, realizing WHY _Valkyrie_ jumped away.

There were over 200 Baseships inbound.

There was no way they could win this.

"Tell the fleet to begin an emergency jump!"

"What about-"

"_Yashuman's_ Vipers are compromised, and if we're not careful, we'll get killed as well! Plot the jump!" Outside, _Yashuman_ regained attitude control and finally recovered her Vipers, then turned to join BSG-60.

There was no way they could win this battle, as they were outnumbered and outgunned. The destruction of the Colonies was certain.

"Ma'am, the AG generator-"

"FTL drive's spooled up, Commander!"

"The field generator's malfunctioning!"

"JUMP THE FLEET, NOW!"

This had an effect that would change everything, as when BSG-60 + _Yashuman_ jumped, they didn't reappear in the Cyrannus System.

They didn't even reappear in their galaxy, but somewhere else entirely.

Earth Sphere: 11 months after the Fall of the Colonies

The _Artemis_-Class Mobile Shipyard known only as Shipyard 1 was home to the first Battlestar built since the Fall: the _Mercury_-Class-based BS-157 _Polaris_.

Due to the fact that the CCE had multiple _Mercury_-Class chassis just waiting to be worked on, the construction of the _Polaris_ was much faster then most would believe, as experience with the _Athena_ and _Izanami_ allowed them to add the modifications to the hull much faster.

_Polaris_ would become the flagship of the Fleet, replacing the _Galactica_ (destroyed during the Battle of the Sol System) and the _Valkyrie_ (which was commanded by Admiral Adama in lieu of a better and more well-armed ship) as soon as she was finished. As the ship's powerplants, fuel tanks and other internal features had been installed, all that was missing were the hull and armor plating, the turrets that would mount the 600cm Swingfire cannons, and, of course, the FTL drive, which was an experimental type based on Cylon FTL technology and combining artificial gravity generation as well as the same AG engine systems as the _Zeus_-Class BSD.

But at the moment, that didn't matter.

What did was Raptor 264, which was on approach. Raptor 264 was a gift from Commander Pinkerton to the Junk Guild: mostly to Commander Jaden Takeo, but you get the idea.

"Polaris, _Raptor 264: requesting permission to land_."

"_Permission granted, Commander. Commander Pinkerton's been expecting you for some time_."

Jaden Takeo was normally a level-headed man. But the news he just got made him as angry as Shinji Ikari when his block word was said.

The Colonial Fleet, with the approval of the Colonial government, had SOLD 8 of their _Galactica_-Class Battlestars to the Earth Alliance, ZAFT and the Kingdom of Scandinavia, complete with their FTL drives!

The Raptor landed on the port flight pod, which was the only one operational at that point in time. While the ship was almost finished, it was still undergoing final construction on the starboard flight pod, meaning anyone coming on board had to land on the port pod.

Jaden landed the Raptor on the pad, which took him down into the hanger.

Like the War-era Galactica-Class, the ship carried hundreds of Vipers.

Unlike the War-era _Galactica_-Class, however, it also carried Mobile Suits: 400 CDF-01 Darts that were built following the Bloody Valentine War.

Like all Battlestars following the Fall, _Polaris_ also carried a mixed group of Vipers, from the Mk II and Mk III to the Mk VII and the most modern Viper, the Mk VIII.

The Mk VIII looked almost exactly like the Mk VII, but had a 50mm autocannon mounted under the belly and an FTL drive, making it the most heavily armed fighter in the Colonial inventory.

What Jaden (and most of the Earth Sphere) had problems with entered the Junk Guild member's sight as soon as he stepped out of his Raptor: three Blackbird Mk II reconnaissance fighters, equipped with Mirage Colloid.

There were at least 80 of the damned things in Colonial service, which was against the Treaty of Luna. (which was a more up-to-date Junius Treaty, but actually involved the destruction of LOGOS and Blue Cosmos)

However, the Colonials never signed the treaty, pissing everyone off even more.

"Commander Takeo?" Jaden looked at a pair of Marines that approached him.

"Commander Pinkerton is in CIC. We're here to escort you there."

"I think I know my way around a Battlestar."

"_Polaris_ isn't like the _Mercury_-Class ships you're used to, sir." Jaden sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere like this. "Lead the way."

The Marines led her to a hatch, and they walked through the ship, and Jaden realized that they were right: _Polaris_' internal layout was far different from _Izanami_ or even _Athena_, which was even bigger then the _Polaris_.

They entered CIC, which reminded Jaden of _Galactica's_ CIC.

He scowled as he remembered Galactica's final charge and her destruction 5 months before. Despite not knowing the ship that well, he didn't take _Galactica's_ loss well.

The only one who took it worse was Ron, but Jaden had no pity for him.

After all, he helped sell the _Galactica_-Class ships.

"The Lohengrin installation is complete, Commander." The CCE field marshal scoffed as he handed his aide a clipboard.

"A month behind schedule, Colonel. Those things should have been installed and tested last week!" "We barely know what we're doing, Commander!"

Jaden took a good look at Ron's face.

Despite looking in his late 20s, the Commander was actually 70 years old and a veteran of the First Cylon War.

But now, he looked like he aged 30 years. That told Jaden one thing: he was stressed and pissed.

"Sir, Commander Takeo-"

Ron looked at Jaden as he descended into the room.

"Jaden, what can I do for you?"

"Don't 'Jaden' me, Commander."

"Oh, frak. This is about those _Galactica_-Class Battlestars. Look, I didn't approve of their sale, but I don't have any say in what the Fleet Admiral wants with his ships."

"You mean Admiral Adama-"

"The President told the Admiral. The Admiral gave me an order. I would have stripped them of their FTL drives, but I didn't have any time to do it."

Jaden looked at Ron incredulously. "That's the only thing-"

"They don't have Swingfire turrets, kid. We gave them _**Galactica**_-Class Battlestars, not _**Izanagi**_-Class Battlestars. They have to make the choice between beam or KEW turrets."

He rounded the table, then sighed.

"We sent a few ships back to the Colonies. Do you know how many people are left?"

Jaden shook his head, but expected a low number.

"15 million."

Jaden blinked in surprise.

"That's a good thing, right?"

"No. We have 15 million people out of 50 billion. Most of them are civilians who just want to go back to their lives. Not that they can, but we just don't have the men to operate new ships. We don't have a choice but to sell them."

"I understand that, but why keep their weapons installed?"

"I would've uninstalled them-"

Jaden chuckled as he and Ron spoke in stereo.

"If I/you had the time." Now curious, he looked around CIC. "How many people DOES it take to man this thing?"

Ron's answer was delivered causally. "Over ten thousand."

Jaden blanched at the number, but Ron scoffed.

"We don't do high automation, Jaden. I thought you of all people knew this."

A question came to the forefront of Jaden's mind.

"Where's Admiral Adama? Shouldn't he be here?"

Somewhere in the Earth Sphere

A small fleet of LOGOS-controlled ships (mostly _Drake_-Class frigates and a few other ships) flew through the black, attempting to avoid a fiery death at the hands of the Colonial Fleet.

Too bad they were being tracked.

Nearby was another ship that broke the Treaty of Luna's accords: the _Orion_-_III_-Class _Night_ _Flight_.

The _Orion_-_III_ was a refit of the _Orion_-_II_, which added Mirage Colloid to the stealth ship's 'weapons'. While lightly armed for a Battlestar, it still had more heavy weapons then a _Nelson_-Class battleship.

Then again, a _Hermes_-Class frigate had more firepower then a _Nelson_-Class battleship.

"Valkyrie, Night Flight: _targets are in sight_."

"_Confirmed_, Night Flight. _Jumping in five, four, three..._"

Near the LOGOS fleet, a flash signaled the arrival of death in the form of the Battlestar _Valkyrie_.

They quickly tried getting to action stations, but _Valkyrie_ was faster, and opened fire on the Phantom Pain fleet, quickly destroying several _Drakes_ and an _Agamemnon_-Class carrier.

But the 700-meter long Battlestar was the least of their worries, as the Colonial _Izanagi_-Class Battlestar _Erasmus_ jumped in, firing her much heavier 600cm Swingfire cannons at the LOGOS-controlled fleet. As predicted, they were completely slaughtered by the two Colonial Battlestars in less then three minutes.

"Valkyrie, Erasmus: _mission complete, sirs. RTB_."

In _Valkyrie's_ CIC, Colonel Saul Tigh nodded.

"Confirmed, _Erasmus_."

Admiral Adama sighed as _Erasmus_ jumped back in orbit of Earth, over Orb.

"How many?"

"12 ships: 8 _Drakes_, two _Agamemnons_, a _Nelson_ and the _Girty Lue_."

Djbril had somehow escaped Daedalus Crater alive, but they limited his safe havens to sure a point that the only place he could stay was his ship, which they just destroyed.

He was now dead.

"Take us to Shipyard 1."

Battlestar _Polaris_

"Clear all moorings! Activate all reactors!"

_Polaris_ was getting ready for launch. Alongside were two _Izanami_-Class Battlestars that were refit from two _Mercuries_: _Solaria_ and _Columbia_.

"Commander, _Valkyrie_ just jumped in. Admiral Adama's inbound on Raptor 147."

Jaden looked at Ron. "Where was he?"

"Anti-LOGOS op. Must've ended successfully if the Admiral's here."

Jaden suddenly didn't want to know.

Colonial missions meant that the use of extreme measures.

Well, extreme by Earth standards.

"Admiral Adama's Raptor has landed."

"Very good. Spool up FTL drives one through five. I'll begin plotting the jump."

Jaden raised an eyebrow.

"Jump?"

"We're heading back to the Colonies. Care to join us?"

That was something Jaden had been curious about since he encountered _Galactica_: what the 12 Colonies were like.

"Sure, why the hell not? It's not like anything's going to happen, right?"

Ron walked over to the FTL console and calculated the jump back to the Colonies.

"Jump is calculated."

Adama and Tigh, as well as a small number of officers from the _Valkyrie_ (Gaeta, Dualla and a few others that transferred to _Valkyrie_ after _Galactica_ was destroyed) and took their posts.

"Commander, SitRep."

"Just about ready to jump back to the Colonies, Admiral. FTL drives one through five are spun up. On your order, sir."

Adama nodded.

The plan was always to take _Polaris_ to the Colonies and test her there. "Do it."

"Jump on my mark!"

What the Commander failed to notice was that one of the FTL drives (one of the two that mixed the FTL drive with the AG generator/engine) was not a true FTL drive.

He didn't notice the fluctuations in the FTL drive until it was too late, and by then, Ron had activated the drive, jumping the prototype Battlestar to parts known and unknown, and solving a mystery that had plagued them since the Fall.

_THAB URE_: COMPLETE!

And now, more technical data for you.

Ship Class: _Polaris_

Ship Type and Role: Battlestar (Battleship/Carrier hybrid)

Developed from: _Mercury_-Class, _Galactica_-Class, _Archangel_-Class

Ships of the line: _Polaris_

Manufacturer: Colonial Fleet/Colonial Corps of Engineers/Morgenroete Inc/Junk Guild (latter two in design role only)

Operators: Colonial Fleet

Height: 331.26m

Length: 1789.8m

Width: 732.2m

Powerplant: 6 x Matter/Antimatter Reactors

Propulsion: 8 x fuel-less sublight engines, 4 x gravitic drive

Armaments: 110 x Swingfire turrets (40 on dorsal and ventral sides, 30 in armored belt) 4 x fixed KEW mounts, 8 x Lohengrin positron cannons (4 fixed in the bow, 2 on each side of the armor belt) 1000 x point defense Kinetic Energy Weapon emplacements, 750 x 55mm/75mm CIWS turrets

Complements: 600 x Vipers of varying Marks, 160 x Mk III Raptors, 400 x Mobile Suits, (mostly CDF-01A Darts, but a number of Marine GAT-01C Strike Dagger Kais or GAT-04 Windams also call the ship home) 10 x Mk II Blackbird stealth reconnaissance fighters

Crew: 7500 officers and men, 1000 pilots, 3000 Marines

Technical and Historical Notes: Even with the _Izanagi_-Class Battlestar coming into service, the ships were still unsuited for MS warfare, so Admiral Adama commissioned Commander Ronald Pinkerton of the Colonial Corps of Engineers to design a new Battlestar more suited to MS warfare. His solution was to use the existing _Mercury_-Class, but heavily modify the ship to create the _Polaris_-Class. While externally the _Polaris_ simply looks like a more heavily armed _Mercury_-Class Battlestar, internally, it is nothing like its' parent. The ship is the first non-BSD to carry over 10000 men (and partially the reason for the sale of several _Galactica-_Class Battlestars) and is the first to carry Mobile Suits from the start rather then being refit to carry them. The _Polaris_ is the only ship of the class to leave the yards, but several other ships were in the final stages of construction by CE 77.

Appearance: A _Mercury_-Class Battlestar with 80 extra dorsal and ventral mounted gun turrets

You know that the _Heaven and Hell _URE's up next, but I'm not writing that one for a while.

I've got OTHER stories to work on!

Ja Ne until I see you again in _Heaven and Hell_ URE!


End file.
